Playing the Right Note
by KosagiNoLegion
Summary: Sequel to Playing with the Big Boys: Choir Practice and a trip to the museum go awry. Without Conan there, can only three Detective Boys solve the case? Chapter 3 & Epilogue: Verisimo A complicated trap goes awry and only the truth can salvage matters. C
1. Prologue & Aria

**_Playing the Right Note _**  
A Detective Conan AU fic  
by  
Deborah J. Brown

Detective Conan is copyright Aoyama Gosho.

Author's Notes: This story is a sequel to Playing with the Big Boys. As such, it's really a good idea to read that fic before you read this one. There are things only barely referenced here that were established in the original story and won't make sense without reading Shoji's introduction.

I'll be making further comments on the story in my Live Journal, user name: kosaginolegion. Review here, if you would, but feel free to comment there as well, or respond to stuff there. I'll be answering any questions on the fic there as well.

* * *

**_Prologue: Overture _**

_She'd listened to the tapes. Over and over and over again. So many times that she'd have worn them out if she hadn't copied them to her computer. Her mother's voice. Kind, soft and terribly sad. Telling her so much and, at the same time, so very little. Nothing about her father or her family. Nothing of how Miyano Elena felt or thought. Yet beneath the small encouragements, rare glimpses could be seen of the woman who had once had ambitions of a life very different from the one her family chose for her. The life that she, dutiful daughter that she was, had accepted, giving up a promising career on the operatic stage. _

_Sometimes she wondered what her mother's life would have been like if she'd pursued her dream. Certainly Akemi and Shiho would never have been born, but did her mother regret the passing of her career? There was sorrow in her mother's voice on those tapes, yes and certainly her mother's life had been cut short because of her part in Miyano Atsushi's research. Yet there was something else there, and she treasured that something else as the only link she had with the mother she only barely remembered. Treasured the love and concern that she heard in the voice of a woman who'd died when she was three years old. _

_Treasured and gained courage from it.. _

* * *

_**Chapter 1: Aria**_

_AI: _

"Cherry blossoms gracefully bloom o'er the fields that lie. "

Ayumi's clear young voice rose and fell, then quavered and came to a halt. Her eyes were wide as she stared out into the theatre. She looked terribly small and alone out there in the middle of the stage, her dark hair gleaming in the light and her eyes huge as she licked her lips nervously. "Uh... High up is the castle wall, where have warriors gone?" Slowly she made her way through the song, hesitating here and there as if she were having trouble remembering the words. From her position at the other end of the small choir, Ai winced. This was, fortunately, just the rehearsal but she wondered if Ayumi would be able to get past her stage fright on the day of the performance.

Still, Ai had to admire the little girl's courage. Standing up alone in front of an audience wasn't something _she_ wanted to do. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy music, she wouldn't have agreed to join the choir if she didn't. Nor was it really the same form of stage fright that affected Ayumi. No, her real fear was being noticed. Standing where she was, behind and amid other children, she could blend in.

Singing a solo meant being the center of attention. Meant that one of those pursuing her might see her and recognize the 18 year old prodigy Miyano Shiho in the seven year old Haibara Ai. She was trying to be braver, trying to learn the courage that she'd lost - or perhaps never had - but there was only so much she dared. She wondered how her mother had done it, in those days when Miyano Elena had been on stage. It would have terrified Ai.

"It's all right, Ayumi. The dress rehearsal is often much worse than the real thing. You'll do fine next week." Their pretty young music teacher smiled from her position at the grand piano, then gestured to her assistant. "Shoji, would you turn the page to the next song? This is for everyone, all right children?" As the boy did so, Ai wondered, yet again, why Miss Tsukano had persuaded someone whose voice was as bad, if not worse, than Conan's to assist with the music class.

Shoji's agreeing, at least, Ai thought she understood. He was a victim of the same drug that had turned both herself and Conan into small children. Before that he had been an FBI agent, Akai Shuichi, who had come to Japan in search of the criminal organization to which Ai had once belonged - and from which she'd escaped . He was simply keeping an eye on her because - sooner or later - their mutual enemy might go after her again. _Though what he thinks he's going to do, at this size and with a broken arm, is beyond me. _

She eyed the American 'boy' curiously. Tall for his apparent age but too skinny, he had an awkward air to him that wasn't helped by the presence of a light cast on his left arm. She could only describe him as gawky and unimposing, a far cry from the tall, menacing - though admittedly equally skinny - man dedicated to the extermination of the Black Organization. His hair in adulthood had been sleek and a trifle curly. Now it had a shagginess that reminded her of a young bird. A black rooster, no doubt. Only the eyes, greenish-yellow and looking like they could see right straight through you, remained much the same. Oh, he did his best to soften that particular expression but every so often it would flicker to life and make Ai wonder if he was going to burst into flame from the heat of whatever emotion he kept so carefully hidden.

A month or so earlier, Ai would have run from him, even in his current - innocuous - form. She hadn't known him personally when she'd worked for the Blacks, but she knew from various warnings and photographs that he was regarded a high risk to the organization. He'd been instrumental in taking down dozens of lower echelon members and the boss apparently considered him incredibly dangerous for reasons she didn't understand, to the point of having his photograph passed to all the members of the organization with the warning that he was to be avoided unless a certain kill was possible.

_Was that how this happened to him?_ she wondered as the boy finished flipping the pages of Miss Tsukano's music book to the next song. Had someone slipped him the APTX drug, expecting it to kill him, only to have him turn out to be one of those rare people who could survive the systemic shock that it caused in the process of de-aging its victims? It had to have been a massive dose, too. At least twice what she and Conan had received, to turn a twenty six year old to a small child. _A _tall_ small child,_ she noted to herself as she joined the rest of the class in singing the next song. The dark haired American boy barely had to stretch to reach the pages.

The girl standing beside Ai nudged her, reminding her that, if she didn't want any attention paid to her, _she'd_ better pay better attention to what she was supposed to be singing.

.oOo.

_SHOJI: _

"Thank you, Shoji. You're being really helpful."

He shrugged, putting the last of the sheet music away in its case while the other children put away the chairs that had been arranged in a semi-circle on the stage. "It's something to do on a Saturday," he told the dark-haired woman, even while he kept an eye on Ai and Ayumi. The two were off in a corner talking and he wondered if Ayumi was going to be okay. The little girl seemed awfully young to be doing a solo. Especially if it made her that nervous. He was rather glad no one was pushing Ai into it.

The music teacher smiled gently and pushed a lock of her long black hair out of her face, the faint scent of her perfume following the gesture. Shoji rather liked the subtlety of the scent. It reminded him of another perfume, one his mother had favored. To his annoyance, he was reminded that it was also _Her_ favorite - when Vermouth wasn't disguised as a man that was. He didn't need to remember that. Realizing that Miss Tsukano was talking, he turned his attention to the young woman. "Yes, but considering that you don't seem to like music very much, I have to appreciate your helpfulness all the more." She handed him a few more pages but didn't try and help him put them away. He was rather glad of that. It still aggravated him that he'd broken his arm a couple of weeks back and he hated having to accept help for it.

Getting the folders in order took a bit of concentration, but Shoji finally answered, "I don't hate music. I'm just really bad at it." Not for the first time he wondered why the teacher had encouraged him to help her out. An attempt to draw out the rather sullen foreign kid, no doubt. He'd always worried teachers, probably because they half expected him to turn into yet another of the hundreds of young punks who ended up in jail or worse. Nor could he blame them - he nearly had. He didn't mind, though. He liked listening to the others. Enjoyed their cheerful if slightly off-key enthusiasm. He just didn't want to sing himself. _Nor does it hurt that it means I can keep an eye on little sister. _

Ayumi was approaching, distracting Shoji from his thoughts. Behind her was Ai, who gave him one of her patented I-don't-trust-you-as-far-as-I-could-throw-you glances before perching on a stool near the piano. "Teacher? Could I try again? I want to get it right." That startled Shoji. Ayumi had sounded so very frightened, earlier. As scared as she'd been, he wouldn't have thought she'd _want_ to keep at it. But then, the child tended to throw herself into things with a foolhardiness that appalled Shoji. Admittedly, _this_ wasn't one of those situations, but given the choice between running into or away from trouble, Ayumi far too often chose the first. Shoji wasn't sure what to make of it, especially since it seemed to be affecting Ai.

He glanced at the younger girl, trying not to let his worry over her show. Half the time she seemed to resent him, the other time to be slightly afraid of him. Sometimes he wondered if she remembered him from all those years ago, if she realized - subconsciously - that he was the brother who'd deserted her when she was three years old and resented it. The fear he could understand better. She had no reason to trust the FBI, no reason to think they'd treat her better than they would any other Black Organization member. The fact that she'd refused their protection told him that she wasn't ready to trust anyone except those closest to her.

For a moment Shoji wished he could have seen what Ai had looked like before the drug had transformed her. She'd resemble their mother, of that much he was sure. Pretty, dirty-blonde hair, with huge blue eyes and an angular face. She had a bit of their mother's temper too, he'd seen it flare occasionally, when annoyance at Genta's eating habits or Mitsuhiko's lack of a critical sense would get the better of her. _Or when Conan is being particularly himself. _

Realizing that Miss Tsukano was talking to him, Shoji apologized. "I'm sorry, I was distracted." He hurriedly pulled out the sheet music that had been requested, while Ayumi took up her position at the center of the stage again. The girl had taken up her position at the center of the stage again, standing as straight as she possibly could.

The memory of standing in much that way as a child, with an ocean of faces in front of him, caused Shoji to wince and feel a surge of panic. He couldn't blame the girl at all for choking again, as her imagination must have supplied the image. "Maybe she's not ready," he whispered to the teacher, who smiled gently at him but continued playing. Ai gave him a glare, even as Ayumi took a deep breath, relaxed her hands and closed her eyes.

This time she sang the song perfectly.

.oOo.

_AI: _

The class marched politely down the hallway, going from the auditorium of the Beika museum to the Children's Exploritarium where they'd be staying until their parents came for them. Ai, Ayumi and Shoji would be staying a bit longer than most of the others - Professor Agasa had taken the other boys on a field trip, which meant that they wouldn't be back until a couple of hours later. Fortunately, there'd been no problem with the agreement that - as long as they behaved themselves in the museum - the three children could stay there while the others students went home.

Glancing up the line, Ai noted Shoji looking at a signboard in front of a large blocked off doorway set between a couple of glass cases filled with early twentieth century weapons. She eyed the sign as well, amused at the overly dramatic presentation of what was, essentially, just a "Under Construction" message. Big lumps glass were glued to the corners of the signboard, which advertised the new change to the Works of Man exhibit, including a flawless man-made diamond that was being loaned to the museum. The glass pieces had been cut into ovals, similar in size and shape to the man-made gem that was shown in the photograph on the sign. They glittered brilliantly, surfaces reflecting far more than a normal diamond would, due, no doubt to some sort of coating covering their surfaces.

As they passed the door it opened and one of the workmen preparing the exhibit passed by. Ai caught a brief glimpse of the room beyond. A number of glass cases along the walls and another at the center of the room surrounded by four poles. She could see something glittering within the glass case, a brilliant object that had to be the diamond. Then the door shut quickly and the workman gave them a cheeky grin before heading down the hall in the other direction.

To Ai's amusement, Shoji looked more interested in the security arrangements than in the tantalizing glimpse of the diamond. He'd eyed the poles around the case with a critical eye and nodding in approval. _You can take the boy out of the FBI but you can't take the FBI out of the boy._

The Exploritarium was in the older part of the museum, which meant the children had to go thru a number of galleries. Ai couldn't help but notice a general run-down air to the place. The paint was faded, darkened with the oil from many hands and the floors were scuffed beyond the ability of mopping and waxing to remedy. She vaguely remembered Conan commenting that this had been the museum where he'd first used Mouri as a mouthpiece, solving the murder of the previous owner by one of the curators. There'd been a walking suit of armor, now given a place of honor in the main hall beside the painting that had inspired the killing. _Somehow, I would have thought that that was rather lacking in sensitivity._ Apparently, however, the museum was trying desperately for any sort of publicity, using even the sensational murder to attract attention.

Their teacher stopped them at the doorway and, after giving them the usual "Please behave yourselves, my Uncle has been very kind, allowing us to use the museum's auditorium for practice while the school auditorium is being repaired," she counted heads and sent group into the room.

As she passed by, however, Miss Tsukano stopped Ai and drew her aside. "Could I talk to you, Ai?" The small brunette waved the rest of the class on and crouched beside Ai. "You and Ayumi are Shoji's friends, right?"

Puzzled, Ai nodded. "Well, sort of. He's more friends with Conan and the others. They all like Yaiba." So did Ayumi, for that matter, but Ai wasn't going to let a little thing like the facts interfere with her general disdain for the male animal's fondness for random and unscientifically thought out plotlines that included as many explosions and rubber monsters as could be fit into an episode. "Why?"

Their teacher hesitated. "Well, I don't like to interfere, but... he's sort of lonely. Do you think you could help me draw him out? Not too quickly, of course." She glanced towards the doorway into the Exploritarium, where the tall boy could be seen leaning against the wall in his usual pose of disinterest. "It's really my fault. I shouldn't have pushed him so hard to come with us. But it's obvious he knows more about music than he's letting on... And he seems to like it, otherwise."

That startled Ai. She'd heard Shoji sing, seen his grim expression when Miss Tsukano tried to get him to sing on his own, to try and help him get the notes at least closer to right. It had been an abysmal failure. Shoji had sounded like a love-sick mountain goat and seemed entirely uninterested in trying to change that. "He does?"

"He almost smiles when he listens to all of you," Miss Tsukano elaborated. "I don't know him very well and he _is_ hard to read, but I think that he wouldn't respond at all if he disliked it. I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't be helping me if music was something he hated. He's the sort to do exactly what he wants to do."

The idea that Shoji was there because he wanted to listen to them sing seemed strange. Ai couldn't tell their teacher that she thought Shoji had joined the group in order to keep an eye on her. Thinking about it, she wondered if maybe she _was_ being paranoid. At last she nodded. "I'll try," she agreed. "Though I don't know, Teacher. Even if he isn't tone deaf, he's a really bad singer. Are you _sure_ you want him trying again?"

Miss Tsukano laughed. "He might surprise you, Ai. Now run along, I don't want him realizing that we're talking about him."

.oOo.

_SHOJI: _

_If you don't want me realizing you're talking about me,_ Shoji thought wryly as Ai entered the room in front of their teacher, _you really don't want to be talking within my sight._ His training had included reading lips and while he wasn't _as_ good at reading Japanese over English, he'd managed to get the gist of what Miss Tsukano was up to. He couldn't, however, be particularly mad about it. It wasn't really their teacher's fault that he'd had the experiences he'd had. If anything, it was his own fault. Even though he didn't want to sing himself and while he didn't appreciate excessively choral works, the sound of cheerful voices singing was a reminiscent one - from a time when music had just been fun.

_Speaking of fun..._ "Yahhhhhh! Teacher, Gyou just pulled my hair." "Oh, look! They have bubble games over here!" "This place is _great_." "Shun, please don't climb on that. It isn't safe." The yells and screams of happy children and a rather harried teacher interrupted Shoji's thoughts, combining with the electronic noises of myriad interactive exhibits that were intended to be educational and which, Shoji thought, were more along the lines of a modern torture devices to most adults.

A small smile quirked his lips at the thought. Vermouth, in a straitjacket, forced to sit in the middle of all this and answer every weirdass question these kids could come up with. _No. Knowing her, she'd probably enjoy it_. It occurred to him that the thought had been almost fondly derisive and he hurriedly pushed it away. He did _not_ like Vermouth. Not at all. He certainly didn't trust her. Not after all her betrayals. He was cooperating with her and her plot - whatever it was - simply because it meant he could keep an eye on her and her doings. Nothing else.

Stepping sideways to avoid an unguided missile in the form of a short boy in a pokemon T-shirt, Shoji scanned the room to find Ai and Ayumi. He was amused to note that while Ai had promised to help their teacher in her plot, the smaller girl wasn't hurrying to do so. _Smart girl. Even if I didn't know what she was up to, I'd be suspicious of a change of behavior. _

The two had found a corner and were examining one of those plasma balls that held a charge which would follow the hand that touched it. Reading her lips, Shoji realized Ai was lecturing the other girl on the fundamentals of electrons and physics. It was, he thought, typical of her. A flash of memory came to him of his father reading an extract from his latest paper to Shoji's little sisters as a bedtime story. He watched the tiny brown-haired girl, smiling to himself. She looked so much like their mother, but her attitudes towards people and towards science were very much their father's. _Give her someone to teach, something to lecture about, and she's happier than a puppy in a meat shop. _

Shrugging off the thoughts, Shoji wandered closer, evading the wild animals disguised as human children. There weren't that many left now - over half of the choir class had been picked up at the end of practice - but even fifteen children could turn a fairly small room like this into a riot. He had to admit it was a good place for kids, though. The sort of place he would have enjoyed for the play value if not the learning experiences.

"Oh, this one looks interesting, Ai!" Ayumi was sitting in front of a computer with a digital camera attached to it. "It'll show you what you'll look like when you're big!" She was already playing with the controls, a picture that showed her seven year old face slowly turning into something a bit older. If the thing was to be believed, Ayumi would be a pretty thing in less than a decade. Shoji was suddenly very glad she had two very dedicated knights to protect her. _Not that Conan and I wouldn't too, but Genta and Mitsuhiko are more likely to be there than we are. At least I hope not to be here. Given Ai finds a cure for our condition._

His little sister had a look on her face that suggested that she couldn't think of anything she wanted to do less than have that device show everyone what she might look like as an adult. Shoji couldn't blame her, either. There wasn't a _lot_ of risk of someone seeing the results and recognizing Miyano Shiho, also known as Sherry, in the little girl Haibara Ai. Even so, it wasn't a risk worth taking. He spoke up, "I don't think she wants to, Ayumi." He noted, regretfully, the sharp look Ai gave him. She still didn't trust him. Nor could he really blame her. The only thing she knew about him was that he was an obsessed hunter of the Black Organization and that his only reason for protecting her was because she was a potential witness. She couldn't know - unless he got the guts to tell her - that she was also his little sister. So far, he hadn't dared.

There was a pause and Ayumi glanced at Ai curiously. When Ai shook her head, stepping back from the machine, the little girl shrugged and got up. "Okay," she said. "What else can we do... Oh, I know! The Sound Room! Almost no one else plays with that." She was on her way without bothering to see if she was being followed.

.oOo.

_AI: _

She was seething inside, unfairly, unreasonably and uncontrollably seething. Ai knew perfectly well that Shoji was just helping her keep her cover but she could have handled the problem without him. This wasn't the first time he'd acted like an over-protective big brother, redirecting the conversation away from things that might put her cover at risk or just generally keeping people from bugging her. It was also unlikely to be the last. _And the worst of it is that I would have been _glad_ of his interference once._ She couldn't deny her own cowardice. It had been a guiding force in her life for so very long after all. Growing up in the Black Organization, she would have done anything for a brother to protect her and Akemi. Now, however, she wanted only to learn the courage that made girls like Ran and Ayumi equal to the boys in their lives. _Given I ever _have_ a boy in my life. _

Still, Ai could understand where Shoji was coming from. Even if she weren't an important witness against the Black Organization she was still the only one who might figure out a cure for the drug that had turned herself, Conan and Shoji into small children. Akai needed both to stay with her and to make sure she remained safe - at least for now. She'd just have to deal with his attitudes.

Entering the Sound Room, Ai wondered why it was one of the least popular of the exhibits at the museum. She would have thought that the opportunity to make lots of noise with sound equipment would have been a pleasure for most kids the age the Exploritarium was aimed at. A quick glance, though, showed that most of the exhibits were out of order, with big pieces of cardboard covering the control panels. Thinking about it, she realized that a lot of the Exploritarium's equipment was that way. The result, no doubt, of far too many children playing far too hard with it.

When Ai expressed that opinion, though, Shoji shook his head. "It's not just that. The whole place is run-down," he noted. "The adult exhibits aren't very well taken care of either. That new exhibit in the Works of Man area is opening up tomorrow, but it's the only thing that looks remotely worth it. And who wants to look at an old man-made diamond for more than a few minutes?"

Refraining from saying that _she_ would have been interested, Ai wandered over to join Ayumi at one of the few working exhibits in the room. A series of games, mostly simple tone and pitch related, she could see why these, at least, didn't get much attention. One amused her, though. Sing or talk into the microphone and the software would alter your voice. _Too bad Conan isn't here to make fun of. Shoji doesn't do that sort of thing._ She sat down at the computer and started up one of the games.

It was one of the tests of musical memory. A sequence of notes would be played and needed to be repeated. First one note, then two, then three and so on. It was the sort of game that she was only decent at, but that she liked none the less for the complicated patterns it formed. Ayumi was better, probably because she was better at music, period. Once in a rare while, though, Ai would be lucky and come out the winner, but not this time.

"Do you want to play, Shoji?" Ai called to the boy, remembering that she was supposed to try and draw him out. If she'd neglected the 'duty' it was only because she really wasn't sure how _she_ was going to go about it. _And why do I have this odd feeling that our teacher asked me because she wants to draw _me_ out too?_ The thought amused her and she almost smiled. "Let Ayumi beat the pants off you, next."

Shoji didn't answer and Ai turned to look at him and rolled her eyes. He was leaning over another console and wearing a headphone, listening to something. From the words on the screen the purpose of that station was to tell the user about the history of music. He was listening to a clip from a group named Rock On Shoujo, a band name she didn't recognize.

Giving him a poke, she asked again, "Want to play?"

.oOo.

_SHOJI:_

For such a little thing, Ai could poke hard. Shoji rubbed at his side ruefully and grinned down at her. "What?" When she repeated the question, obviously irritated with him for some reason, he shrugged. "I'm practically tone deaf, remember? I couldn't play a game like that even if I wanted to."

Ayumi looked puzzled. "But if you were tone deaf, you wouldn't like listening to music," she pointed out, a bit to his annoyance. That was the problem with attempting to cover things up. Sensible little people like Ayumi could find the fundamental flaws in his logic without bothering to think about it. People like Ai and Conan tended to look at the words more emotions - making it slightly easier to work around them. Now that Ayumi had said that, though, he would bet that little sister would be thinking a lot harder about how he _felt_ about things rather than what he said.

In an attempt to head the thoughts off at the pass, Shoji turned the sound up on the headphones and held them out to the girls like a pair of speakers. The noise coming off them was music, but it was very different from the richly structured and carefully balanced chorals of his youth. Jodie always liked to say that his preferred music sounded rather like someone had gotten a band of deaf musicians together and mixed up their sheet music, a not entirely accurate description of the kind of unstructured sounds he preferred.

"Oh. Jazz." Ai shrugged. "So? That doesn't mean you can't recognize tones." She looked at him challengingly and added, in English, "I double dog dare you to play Ayumi."

Now _that_ startled him. _Where'd she get _that_ from?_ he wondered, blinking at her. Then he smiled and shrugged. He could play. He didn't have to play well. You never turned down a double dog dare, after all.

Joining Ayumi at the other console while Ai took over the one he'd been at, Shoji gave the smaller girl a wry smile. "Go easy on me, okay? I don't play this sort of game usually." The little girl smiled and set up a game on the easy mode. He still made sure he lost within a few tries, a much simpler task than disguising musical talent, really. All he had to do was hit the wrong button halfway thru the sequence.

After about the third game, Ayumi shook her head. "Shoji, how do you know when to turn the pages?" Yet another of those questions that he wished that little girl wasn't so good at asking. He shrugged and glanced sideways at Ai, but the other girl was engrossed in searching through the music on the other computer and probably hadn't noticed. Ayumi, fortunately, came up with an answer that seemed to satisfy her. "Oh, of course. You listen to the words. And I bet Teacher lets you know when she's ready."

Relieved, Shoji nodded. "That's probably it," he agreed. "Anyway, I'm lousy at this game, so let's find something else to do." The two rejoined Ai, who was listening intently to something, her expression far away. Shoji was momentarily tempted to return her poke for one of his own, but didn't because a glance at the monitor stopped him. She'd found the section covering opera and, specifically, of a certain little known artist named Angela Beda, AKA the Sicilian Angel.

Their mother.

.oOo.

_AI: _

Listening to the voice, Ai could just barely hear her mother's vocal tones in the aria being sung. She was fairly sure, though, that the faint memory of that voice singing a lullaby in a language Ai didn't know wasn't just her imagination. It was a beautiful voice, sweet, pure and strong. Not the sort of voice one would expect from the slender, fragile-looking Miyano Elena. She re-read the biography, so very woefully lacking in real information. _Birth date unknown. Birthplace, England. First appearance as Agathe in Der Frieschutz. Rumored to have been one of the rare performers actually capable of breaking a wineglass with her voice._ She closed her eyes and let the sound draw her in.

As the song ended Ai realized that Ayumi and Shoji were both standing beside her. Both watched her with curious expressions and she smiled, shrugging. "It was pretty," she told them. "You wouldn't understand, Shoji." He smirked, an oddly irritating expression. "Or would you like to listen?" She held out the headphones.

"Why would it mean anything to me? Even if I liked opera, which I don't, it sounds all distorted. " Shoji asked and she thought she heard a note of actual regret in his tone. She shrugged in answer and he continued, "Anything good?"

Ai pointed to the monitor. "She's got a pretty voice. I take the breaking glass thing with a large grain of salt though."

With a puzzled expression, Ayumi asked, "Why?"

"Because, it's highly unlikely. It's possible to break glass with a sufficiently powerful frequency generator but the human voice isn't capable of the kind of amplification needed." It surprised Ai to see Shoji raise a brow in disbelief. "Show some critical sense, Shoji. It's never been documented..." Shoji's expression didn't change. "Even Enrico Caruso's wife admitted that she'd never seen him do it."

"Mother could," Shoji said quietly, interrupting the flow of Ai's thoughts and startling her. "She'd get mad sometimes and break every wine glass in the house that way." Ai wanted to suggest that his mother might have had other means that had assisted her in this task, but something in Shoji's face said that arguing with him on the matter would only cause a fight.

It was Ayumi who came to the rescue, as she usually did when Ai and Shoji argued. "Your mama was a singer, Shoji?"

"Mmmm. Yeah. She was. She was even on stage for a while before she married father." The yellow-green eyes softened momentarily and Ai had a sudden feeling that - in this at least - Shoji wasn't trying to hide himself. He really _did_ love his mother, whomever she was. Maybe that was why he'd agreed to help the choir when he couldn't sing. Perhaps it had disappointed his mother that her child was so singularly untalented.

Ai got to her feet. "So, anything else in here of interest or should we go out and see if there's something else to do out in the main room..." Her voice trailed off as the room suddenly plunged into darkness.

"What the..." Ai was pretty sure that Shoji only stopped the curse before it got out because she and Ayumi were present. She ignored it, though, turning on her watch's flashlight and pointing it towards the door. Ayumi ran over to open it and Ai sighed, enormously relieved when the girl had no problem doing so. Beyond was more darkness, but the small flashlight watches they all wore would be enough to get them to the door of the Exploritarium. She gave Shoji a puzzled glance before hurrying after Ayumi. To say she was scared was reasonably accurate if a trifling bit understated. However, she wasn't going to let Ayumi go on her own. Not when they didn't know what was going on. It didn't help her state of mind that the other room was empty. She would have expected at least one or two children to still be in there.

Shoji moved quickly ahead of them before Ai or Ayumi could reach the next door. "Look. Let me check first." Ayumi made a disgusted noise and Ai couldn't help but be irritated as well. He was doing it again. Being over-protective when it wasn't necessary. "We can go together," Ai said, following closely behind the tall boy. "Don't argue. Neither of us want to sit here in the dark while you do the big brave boy thing by yourself." She was rewarded with a wry laugh and was told to 'come on, then.' Somehow, the tone irritated her more, as if he were indulging the cute little girl.

The three made their way through the darkened halls, passing between suits of armor and old paintings. The memory of Conan's story was clearly coming back to Ayumi and the little girl was moving along a trifle nervously. In a way, it made Ai feel better, because if brave Ayumi was scared, her own fears weren't quite so foolish. _Even though I don't believe in ghosts, no matter _what_ Heiji says, this is still unnerving. _

Somewhere up ahead came the sound of shouting. Incoherent, enraged and quite likely blasphemous shouting that - in a comic book - would have been portrayed in bold characters and surrounded with small explosions. They paused, uncertainly and Shoji grabbed the two, pushing them off into a side hall as a flashlight shown down the hallway.

After a moment, the flashlight beam was gone and Ayumi whispered, "That's from the new exhibit area. Maybe there's a thief!" She was moving towards it before Ai or Shoji could stop her, just as the doors were flung open by a big man in a wrinkled suit and rain dampened coat. He was lit by the huge flashlight he carried in one hand, the shadows around him seeming to rise like monstrous beasts around him.

Ayumi screamed, falling backwards and cowered against the wall.

.oOo.

_SHOJI: _

The man cursed, a stream of profanity that Shoji would have respected better if it wasn't being aimed at a little girl. Anger got the better of him and he rushed forward to block the big man's path, glaring up at him furiously, not at all sure what he'd do if the stranger tried to sweep him out of the way. Belatedly it occurred to him that a six and a half year old's body simply wasn't up to the task of physically protecting another child from an adult's fist. Still, the one thing he was good at was bluffing and he gazed levelly up at the man. "You shouldn't swear like that in front of little girls, mister."

Behind Shoji, Ai had helped Ayumi to her feet, the two girls moving behind him. He wasn't sure if they were looking for protection or trying to support him but he half wished they'd run instead. The thought occurred to him, though, that this wasn't the only person in the building and who knew what the two might run into on their own. _Best for them to stay with me._

The man eyed him, moment of temper settling down to startled puzzlement. "I thought we got all the kids out of here," he muttered. Then he squatted in front of Shoji, obviously trying to appear less threatening. Given that the flashlight beam was making his shadow huge against the wall behind him, the effort was something of a failure "I'm Inspector Nakamori, little boy. A policeman. Everything's okay. I didn't mean to scare your friend... Or your little sister." He glanced over Shoji's shoulder as he noticed Ai.

Before Shoji could open his mouth, Ai leaned around him. "He's _not_ my brother!" Shoji wasn't sure exactly _why_ the statement hurt so much. After all, she was just saying something she believed to be fact. She didn't have to be quite so defensive about the idea, though. Almost as an afterthought, she added, "Sir."

"Really? You two look alike."

Shoji couldn't resist remarking, "We're both part foreign, sir. We all look alike." He regretted the words even as he spoke them. An adult could make impertinent remarks of that sort to a superior officer - given that the superior didn't mind - but a child who made such comments was simply a smart assed brat. "Uhm. Sorry. That didn't come out the way I meant it to."

Nakamori gave him a long, considering look. The sort of look that said that he was certain Shoji had done something wrong and he was just waiting to figure out what. That, fortunately, was an expression Shoji was used to. It had never worked for Black and it wasn't going to work for Nakamori At last the Inspector shook his head and muttered to himself, "No, even the Kid couldn't disguise himself as someone _that_ short."

The urge to note that the Kid - whomever he was - would probably not call attention to himself this way was intense. Fortunately for Shoji's continued safety, though, another voice interrupted. "Inspector Nakamori. They're just children. You're going to frighten them." Two more people were leaving the exhibit room to join the policeman. One

was Miss Tsukano's uncle, a tall cadaverous man who had always seemed to Shoji to be permanently harried and out of sorts. The other, the speaker, was Miss Tsukano, her expression reproving as she glared at the Inspector . Then she looked at Shoji and the girls, smiling weakly. "I'm so sorry, children. I didn't mean to forget you. I didn't see you in the Exploritarium when Inspector Nakamori insisted that everyone clear out."

Shoji nodded. "We were in the Sound Room when all the lights went out. What happened?" he asked. "What's going on?"

It was Mr. Tsukano who answered. "The Phantom Kid apparently sent a warning to a television station earlier this morning. Inspector Nakamori thinks he plans on stealing our diamond today. It's possible this outage has something to do with that. Though I think the rain is a more likely culprit." Shoji glanced behind the man into the room beyond. It was lit, dimly, with several tracks of emergency lighting and he could see a huge crowd of policemen surrounding the glass case. One emergency light gleamed under the diamond itself, creating a rainbow glitter through the room.

Nakamori grumbled. "I still don't get why he mailed it to the news. Or did mine get lost..." He stopped his mutterings and eyed the three children in front of him. "So, why haven't they been picked up? There were only a few kids left when we came in." He looked around, as if half expecting someone to materialize. Behind Shoji, Ayumi made a little noise of comprehension and Shoji noted to himself that he'd have to get some back story sometime. _Oh. Wait, I remember. That weirdo thief._ Before coming to Japan he'd studied the papers looking for any odd criminal activity. It would have been hard not to notice the activities of a thief who gave back his plunder after the chase was over and he realized that this Nakamori must be in charge of the bandit's capture... Now, what did Tsukano call him again? _Oh, yes. The Phantom Kid._ _How very... melodramatic._

"My guardian, Professor Agasa, hasn't picked us up yet," Ai explained. "We were waiting for him in the Exploritarium when the lights went out, so we came out to see what was happening. You said the Kid. The _Phantom Kid_? Is that why _you're_ here? Is the diamond in danger?"

It was something of a relief to have someone other than himself be the center of Nakamori's attention for a moment, though Shoji wished it weren't Ai. Again that suspicious look and another muttered, "No, that's even less likely. She's just a little girl." He pulled out his radio and yelled into it, demanding to know if anyone else was wandering around. The answers were all negative and Shoji realized that the police had cleared the entire building.

Nakamori turned and beckoned to a policewoman. "Right. I want everyone not police out of the way. Now." The young woman hurried over so quickly that Shoji thought she was going to fall over her feet. Something about the Inspector apparently inspired a sense of haste. _Gee. Wonder what that might be._ Shoji much preferred his boss's laid back methods. "Take them all to Tsukano's office," he ordered, only to come to break off as the music started.

First was a Sousa march, complete with children's voices singing the alternative lyrics, rising somewhere outside the building. Again, Nakamori let loose a flood of profanity that Shoji couldn't help but respect. He hadn't heard language that blue since his cousins in Little Sicily. _I just wish he wasn't doing it in front of the girls._ If he were bigger he could have done something about it. As it was, he just had to put up with it.

Miss Tsukano wasn't quite so sanguine over the matter. She put her hand on Shoji's shoulder and opened her mouth to protest. Before she could, though, more music rose. The Sousa march shifted to Gilbert and Sullivan, then Der Fliedermaus then, oddly enough, Disney's Dance of the Hours. It got louder, though not yet loud enough to cover up Nakamori's furious shouting. "GUARD THE DIAMOND! THIS IS JUST A DISTRACTION!"

"Der _Frieschutz_?" Shoji muttered, as Miss Tsukano hustled them to a corner. Shoji barely noticed her hand on his shoulder, being more distracted by the Kid's choice in music. He loathed most opera, but he knew the music and the singer's voice too well not to recognize what was being played. _No, played is an understatement._ Agathe's aria was getting louder and louder, hurting the ears and pounding against the skin like sound of bells from inside a church tower. It hurt and it was all he could do not to scream fury at whomever had turned his mother's voice into a torture device. Behind him, Ai cried out and he automatically moved to guard her, even as Miss Tsukano's hand tightened on his shoulder protectively.

The emergency lights flickered, dimmed and went out altogether.

.oOo.

_AI: _

The noise was impossible to think thru. Ai clutched at her ears, bending over and trying to hide from the sound. Dimly she was aware of a tall figure standing between her and the doorway, as if Shoji thought he could protect her from this with his body. A fine thought, but considering that it was obviously hurting him as much as it was herself and Ayumi, a vain one. He was glaring into the room, his entire body tense and angry. She'd barely heard him gasp the name of the opera as their teacher pushed them away from the doorway.

When the darkness fell entirely the woman's voice sang on. The voice of an angel, a voice so high and clear and perfect that it nearly broke Ai's heart to hear it. She knew that voice, had just been listening to it, though at a much softer level. It reached out to her, grasped at her heart and made her long to be held and comforted. The note rose and rose and rose and seemed to go on forever.

The crash of broken glass was so quickly followed by an alarm going off from the center of the room that Ai thought she'd imagined it. The next crash, however was much louder and more obvious, even over the horrific sound of steadily rising feedback from the alarm. The noise continued blaring for minutes more, before - suddenly - it all just stopped. In the silence that followed the only things Ai could hear were gasps for air and someone sobbing softly nearby. She forced herself to stand upright, to take several deep breaths as flashlights came on again and someone, ordered by Nakamori, went running off to get the lights back on.

In the meantime, Nakamori's men were scanning the room for any signs of the Kid. Light beams flashed back and forth, gleamed against metal and gems and flashed against glass. It only took a second for them to realize that, despite the room being filled with police, despite every exit being blocked, the diamond was gone.

The Inspector's reaction was enraged and memorably profane, if mercifully shortened by Miss Tsukano's reminder that there were children in earshot. Ai listened to his efforts to keep his mouth firmly closed around the cursing with rising amusement. At this rate, Shoji was going to have a whole new set of words he shouldn't say in his vocabulary. _As if he needs anymore._ Realizing that Ayumi had slipped away from her, she looked around. She could see the familiar light beam from the girl's watch as it headed to the case where the diamond had been.

Ai followed the girl and was, in turn, followed by Shoji, who'd apparently slipped free of Miss Tsukano in the confusion after the theft. That same confusion made it easy to get close, though Ai rather wished they weren't trying. She should have expected Ayumi to try and sneak up and get a view. It was the sort of thing Conan would do, and Ayumi would love a chance to do what the boy would do. Even though she wasn't nearly so well equipped as Conan to try.

The diamond case had been surrounded by four poles that, from Shoji's muttered comment, was some sort of sensor array and an expensive one. The glass case was shattered entirely, leaving only a few jagged pieces pointing upwards. At the center was a bracket that must once have held the diamond but which was now surrounded by broken glass from the case, the thin shards glittering against white satin in the light from Ayumi's flashlight.

"Oh, wow," Shoji whispered. "How'd he do it?"

Ai didn't have an answer. Nor did she have a chance to say so, because that was the moment that Nakamori realized what they were doing. The Inspector's roar of fury was deafening and Ai didn't have pretend childish fear as the man came down on them, raging at them so loudly that his words were only partially comprehensible. Ai could only comprehend one word in three but they were, mostly, directed at Shoji. Things like, 'interfering with police', 'criminal mischief' and 'aiding and abetting a criminal' were the least of the man's angry accusations. It wasn't until the lights came on again, showing Shoji staring up at him with a pale, frightened and tear stained face that Nakamori stopped. Took a deep breath. Glared at Miss Tsukano and her uncle.

"Get. Them. Out. Of. Here."

To Be Continued...


	2. Imbroglio

**_Playing the Right Note _**  
A Detective Conan AU fic  
by  
Deborah J. Brown

Detective Conan is copyright Aoyama Gosho.

Author's Notes: This story is a sequel to Playing with the Big Boys. As such, it's really a good idea to read that fic before you read this one. There are things only barely referenced here that were established in the original story and won't make sense without reading Shoji's introduction.

I'll be making further comments on the story in my Live Journal, user name: kosaginolegion. Review here, if you would, but feel free to comment there as well, or respond to stuff there. I'll be answering any questions on the fic there as well.

* * *

**_Chapter 2: Imbroglio_**

**SHOJI: **

"Oh _children!_ I'm so sorry about this! I didn't remember there was that other room in the Exploritarium. I know how scary all of this has been." Miss Tsukano hugged Shoji and pulled out a handkerchief. "Young man, your face is _all_ dirty. Here, let me wipe it for you." He had to fight her off quickly, embarrassed by the attention and a trifle bothered by her perfume. There was something wrong with the scent, a faint bitterness beneath the lilac that hadn't been there before. At her insistence, though, he took her handkerchief and went into the washroom attached to her uncle's office, ignoring the smirk on Ai's face as he passed the two girls.

Leaving the door open, Shoji listened as the policewoman told the Tsukanos, "The children are sort of witnesses," the young woman told the pair. "So I think Inspector Nakamori will be wanting to talk to them, later. Just in case they saw or heard something important. We'll need to keep them here for the moment, so you should call their guardian and let him know."

Miss Tsukano's voice was calm. "Of course. I'll phone Professor Agasa right away. Uncle? May I use your phone?" Shoji only half listened to the next part, being too busy cleaning up his face. Now, at least, he knew why Nakamori had stopped so suddenly when the man had seen his face. There were faint tear tracks trailing from the corners of his eyes. _Embarrassing,_ he thought, a trifle annoyed that the man now thought he was so soft that a bit of yelling would make him cry.

On the other hand, it had been a convenient burst of emotion, especially since he'd not been doing too well pretending to be a small child before that. His mother's voice, distorted though it had been by both volume and a peculiar shift in its pitch, had nearly broken his heart to hear. _Strange. That recording in the Sound Room had the same distortion._ He wondered if he ought to mention it and doubted Nakamori would care.

Something he heard outside made him blink. Miss Tsukano was really distracted, he thought, because she'd just told Professor Agasa that he should tell Shoji's _parents_ that Shoji would be late coming home that night. That he was staying the night at Agasa's she couldn't know but why in the world had she said parents in the plural? The story Vermouth had given to the school was that his bad manners were due to grief over losing his mother. Miss Tsukano knew that. He climbed down from the step stool and came out, giving Ai and Ayumi a puzzled look and seeing a similar expression returned.

Looking at Miss Tsukano, he frowned. Something wasn't right but he couldn't - quite - tell what. Another glance at Ai confirmed the opinion. She wasn't reacting like this was a Black Organization operative, though, so he relaxed a bit and waited until their teacher was off the phone to ask, "What's going on? The only thing I understand is that the diamond was stolen."

Mr. Tsukano looked regretful and Shoji couldn't help but think that he looked like a man who'd been under a lot of pressure lately. It was there in his pose, in the way he moved. In the way he tapped nervously on the pad on his desk with a pencil. "The Kaitou Kid sent a warning to the news that he was going to steal the diamond we were displaying. Inspector Nakamori arrived a bit ago to... try and protect it." He shrugged. "Apparently not very well."

Though a part of him bristled at the sour tone in the man's voice about Nakamori's failure, Shoji supposed he really couldn't _blame_ the man for feeling that way. From the looks of things, the curator was already harried and overworked. This theft could end up costing the museum a lot of money. _Or could it? Didn't I read that the Kid always returns what he steals?_ There was always a first time, admittedly, but... _There's something else. Something about _what_ he steals. _

"I thought the Kid only steals old things," Ai asked in a puzzled voice. "Things with a history." That was what Shoji had half forgotten in his reading up on the thief. He'd not bothered memorizing much about the Kaito Kid because every instinct had told him that the young thief was _not_ involved with the Black Organization. Perhaps it was the fact that he _did_ return his prizes. More likely it was that he and Black Organization didn't get along. There were some hints that they, or some similar group, sometimes went after the Kid, showing up at a heist and trying to kill him.

Mr. Tsukano gave Ai a wintry smile. "I don't pretend to understand it myself. I only found out this afternoon when Inspector Nakamori showed up, claiming that he believed the note to be a threat." He paused, recollecting, "'On the day across from that of two ill-fated black cats, the brightest star shall shatter into nothingness from the house of the tainted knight.' Really meaningless, frankly. I suppose he was right about that much."

Before the curator could continue, though, the young policewoman's radio crackled. "Get Tsukano down here. NOW! I want to talk to him!" She gave the older man an apologetic look and he shrugged, following her out the door.

**_.oOo._**

**AI: **

Settling on the couch, Ai watched her teacher silently. Before she could really try to figure out just what was wrong, though, Ayumi asked, "What does it mean? I don't get it."

Ai smiled wryly. The Kid was given to sending warnings to the police in a long and well established routine of playing with their minds. However, she had to admit that she wasn't sure exactly how this one had been worked out. Oh, the tainted knight part was fairly obviously a reference to that old murder case but the day of ill-fated black cats? "What's that supposed to _mean_?"

It was Shoji who answered. "A day of two ill-fated black cats must be something twice unlucky." Ai nodded. It was a western superstition, admittedly, but not an unknown one. She perched on a chair, pondering and rubbing her chin thoughtfully. Rather to her annoyance, Shoji smirked, as if something was amusing him. The smirk broadened into a real smile when Ayumi perched beside Ai and assumed a similar pose. "Friday the 13th is unlucky too, at least in the west."

Ayumi sounded puzzled as she asked, "But why black cats? Black cats are lucky, aren't they?"

Shaking his head, Shoji told her, "Not in places like America. A lot of people think it's bad luck to have one cross your path. Personally, I like them." Ai looked at him, dourly. He _would_ like the sneaky little critters. He was a natural born sneak himself. "Doesn't explain the two black cats, though. Friday the 13th is unlucky all by itself, and 13 is unlucky, but not all Fridays."

Again, Ayumi shook her head. "I still don't understand. Four's unlucky, but why would black cats be? They're cute." Her question caused Ai to raise her head and look at the calendar, a thought hitting her. "What is it, Ai?"

Ai didn't answer. Instead she grabbed the calendar off the desk and flipped backwards. "Yes! That's it." She pointed to the day in question. April 13th had - indeed - been a Friday. "Exactly 6 months ago. Two unlucky things at once." Shoji looked puzzled and she noted, "April is the fourth month. So a Friday the 13th would be doubly unlucky." She should have realized that point sooner. Her real name, Shiho, had the unlucky number four in it. She'd always felt it was unfair that her parents had given her such an inauspicious name. _I wonder why? _

Shoji nodded after a moment. "That makes sense, then." He settled into a seat and skritched absentmindedly at his wrist just under the cast, stopping only when Ai glared at him. "It itches," he whined.

"So? Show some self-control." Ai looked up at Miss Tsukano, who belatedly realized that she should be providing some sort of adult supervision and added her voice to the general scolding of Shoji. Rather to Ai's irritation, this only amused the wretched man. "Anyway," she said after a bit more glaring, "I don't understand why the Kid is doing things this way. None of it makes any sense."

Shoji cocked his head and looked at Miss Tsukano, still skritching a bit. "No, it doesn't. Does it, Mr. Kid?"

**_.oOo._**

**SHOJI:**

There was a moment of silence at Shoji's pronouncement. He was, however, pleased to note that while Ayumi was staring from him to Miss Tsukano with an expression of disbelief, Ai simply looked like a suspicion had been confirmed. He was, he knew, taking a bit of a risk here. It all really depended on what sort of person the Phantom Kid really was. But all the reports tended to suggest that - while criminal as all hell - the thief had a peculiar code of honor. He didn't kill and he only rarely caused physical damage to anything except - occasionally - someone's property. Indeed, for a thief he had an almost obsessive respect for other people's things.

Miss Tsukano's eyes widened. "_Shoji_, how could you suspect me of being the Kid?" Her tone had just the faintest edge of humor and Shoji knew he was right. "That's so terribly rude of you!"

"It'd be ruder if I came up behind you and pulled your hair off," Shoji pointed out. "Want me to do that, too?" He eyed the apparent woman. "Come off it, Kid. You're not fooling me. For one thing, you just told Professor Agasa to tell my _parents_ that I'm not coming home quite yet. My mother's dead and Miss Tsukano knows that." The Kid looked startled and he smiled sweetly, thinking, _Not to mention, the perfume she wears doesn't smell right on you._ He wasn't going to say so, however. No need to reveal all his methods, nor to help a criminal improve their disguise. "Besides, you walk wrong for a girl."

There was a moment of silence. Then the Kid sat down on his chair, eyeing both Shoji and Ai with an interested expression. "What is it about Conan?" he muttered in the voice of an adolescent male. "He's collecting them, now?" He grinned as Shoji stiffened. The Kid knew the truth about them, or at least suspected. _Damn, damn, damn, damn _damn! "I know. You're all a bunch of genetically modified clones who have replaced the real Conan, Ai and Shoji. You'll use your superior knowledge and intellect to help you take over the world." The Kid's words made Shoji sigh inwardly with relief. He knew, yes, but he wasn't going to blow their cover, even to Ayumi. It occurred to him that Ai wasn't worried about it and that he shouldn't worry either.

"Mr. Kid," Ayumi said reprovingly. "That was a Yaiba plot. And not a very good one, either. Was it, Ai?" Somehow Shoji kept from laughing at Ai's pleased expression. He could almost read her thoughts, 'finally someone pays attention to what _I_ think of that show'. The girl nodded, gazing up, wide-eyed at the Kid. It was an expression that made Shoji long to ruffle her hair the way he used to. Fortunately, he kept the urge under control as Ayumi continued, "Where's Miss Tsukano, Mr. Kid? You didn't hurt her, did you?"

"I have a feeling," the Kid answered, "That if I did _anything_ to her that wasn't gentlemanly, your friend here would take me apart limb from limb." The look he gave Shoji was disconcerting, especially on Miss Tsukano's face. "Don't worry, Miss Ayumi. You know I don't hurt people. With luck, she won't even have a headache from my sleeping gas."

Shoji paused for a long moment. It was sort of a relief not to have to disguise himself and he took full advantage of the moment to gaze levelly and consideringly at the Kid. Finally, as the Kid threw his arms up and hid behind them whining about 'the eyes, the eyes, the terrible, terrible eyes', he took pity on the younger man. "Okay. I believe you."

"Phew!" The Kid sat up straight and sighed. "Well, what _am_ I to do now that I've been discovered? Do I get treated to a demonstration of deductive skill as the three of you figure out exactly _how_ I accomplished this marvelous theft?"

Ai shook her head. "You're not the thief."

The Kid eyed her, blinking at the firmness of her tone. "Oh? And how do you know?"

"One, you never steal anything without a history."

"First time for everything. Maybe I want to be the first for this one."

"Your riddles make sense and aren't a bunch of tangled phrases thrown together haphazardly."

"An off week."

Ai shook her head. "Maybe, but you never send a message to the news. Always to the police."

"I could have changed my ways."

Surprisingly, Ayumi decided to join in, "You play fair with the police. You never send a warning so close to the time. Inspector Nakamori said the news only got it today!"

"I'm rushed."

It was Shoji who added the clincher. "Then why are you still here?"

The Kid laughed. "Oh, all right. I confess. I'm _not_ guilty." His expression turned serious. "I _am_ however, very annoyed. That so-called diamond was an over-hyped piece of trash. I don't care how much carbon went into the making of it." He frowned. "I didn't get a good look at it, either, but there was something else wrong about it, too. Something about that stupid coating."

**_.oOo._**

**AI: **

Reflecting that there was nothing quite so self-righteous as a criminal accused of the crime he _didn't_ do, Ai considered the Kid's comments. "You mean like on the glass pieces on the signboard?" At his nod, she frowned deeply. An idea was flickering in the back of her mind but it wasn't - quite - strong enough to make sense. It had to do with all the noise during the theft, though she wasn't sure what.

The Kid continued his diatribe. "The real criminal even had to phone an anonymous tip to Nakamori so he wouldn't miss the clue. Honestly, if someone is going to use my name it'd be nice if they didn't make me look like a complete feeb. And what was with all that music? I know I'm melodramatic - it's part of the image - but I don't need an orchestra for background music! Fireworks are a lot more fun."

Waiting for the litany of complaint to be over, Ai glanced over at Ayumi, who was listening with wide eyed seriousness, nodding occasionally in agreement. It amused Ai that the little girl was behaving more and more like herself and Conan. Thankfully, she saw little of Shoji in her, probably because - while Ayumi apparently liked the taller boy - he was a rather rough and tumble type. Ayumi was very brave and very foolhardy but she was also very ladylike.

At last the Kid wound down and Shoji remarked, "So. What do you expect us to do about it. We're just a bunch of kids. Meddling kids, yes, but kids. Inspector Nakamori isn't going to listen to us. Even if we _do_ figure out how it was done." He paused and added, "Besides, Conan's not here."

"I know," the Kid said regretfully. "I was actually hoping he'd show when I saw Ai and Ayumi in your choir class earlier. I wasn't expecting _you_." He eyed Shoji with a rueful expression. "I didn't know you were with them until you showed up at the exhibit hall." It occurred to Ai that Shoji had to have given the Kid quite a start. From his expression, Shoji wasn't particularly sorry if he had.

"The point remains, what do you expect us to do about it?"

The Kid turned and looked at Ai appraisingly and she suddenly wished that she had Conan to hide behind. The Kid knew about her, that much was obvious. He'd left her alone, probably because it was a lot more fun picking on Conan than it was picking on a scared little girl. At his look, though, Shoji stiffened. "You don't need to drag her into this. What if the criminal turns violent? Since it isn't you, we have no idea what they might do. And Nakamori isn't going to like having a little girl poking around in his investigation."

Irritation suffused Ai and made her straighten, standing up. "I'll do what I can," she said. "I'm not as good at this sort of thing as Conan, but I'll try my best." She walked up to Shoji, who was staring at her as if she were a kitten who'd suddenly transformed into a wildcat. "As for you. You are _not_ my big brother. I don't _need_ a big brother. And you will _stop_ this overprotective, patronizing, _nonsense_ or I will kick you in your shins!"

Whistling softly, the Kid leaned over to Shoji. "Whew. It's scary when girls get mad, isn't it?" Shoji ignored him, his greenish-gold eyes staring at Ai as if she'd slapped him with a fish. His mouth dropped, then closed, then dropped, then closed again and for a moment Ai thought he was going to yell at her.

At last, however, Shoji just stood up. "Madame detective, it's your case. I'll be your faithful Watson, then. Or would you prefer something closer to Agatha Christie?" There was a note of bitterness in the sarcasm. "Where shall we start?"

She took a deep breath. "I want to look at those fake diamonds on the advertisement. Let's see if we can get down there without being noticed."

**_.oOo._**

**SHOJI: **

He didn't have any right to be so mad at her. She didn't know, after all and now that she'd said that, he wasn't sure he _dared_ tell her the truth. He watched her walk ahead of him, barely answering something Ai was saying to her and fought for self-control. The worst of it was, for just that moment, she'd resembled their mother so much that it'd scared the bejeebers out of him. _Damn this body, anyway!_ It didn't seem to affect Conan and Ai this way but he seemed to have more problems keeping the physical responses to strong emotions under control. Puberty was going to be sheer hell, in that case, because he remembered being an angst ridden whining puppy during that time. _I got over myself, though. So I have to get over myself right now. _

Beside him, the Kid eyed him curiously, walking in such an excessively feminine way that Shoji was suddenly rather _glad_ of certain physical changes. _That_ would have been distracting if he'd been an adult. No matter how good one might be at not letting a girl know that you were interested the body still made sure to let _you_ know what _it_ thought of the matter. "Miss Tsukano doesn't walk like that," he pointed out. "Slow down a bit and don't swing the hips so much. You're good at doing girls, but you have to be careful not to overemphasize certain traits. Miss Tsukano's a lady, not a chick."

"Ooooo. Experience?"

"Hmph. Something like that." Shoji shrugged. While there were usually sufficient female operatives in the FBI, his boss liked to have a few men on hand who could cross dress effectively. Being slight and rather pretty, Shoji had been among those trained in the skill, though he'd only used it once - when going after a serial killer in New York. He'd learned then that it wasn't nearly as easy as it looked to walk in high heels or maintain a believable feminine guise. He wondered, idly, if Vermouth had had similar learning experiences when she'd first started disguising herself as men. He also decided _not_ to ask her.

"Wanna tell me..."

"No."

"Oh. Well be that way."

Shoji eyed the young man. "And don't put your arms behind your head when you're walking. What if a policeman shows up?" Honestly, sometimes kids didn't have a clue. He caught a slight smirk on the Kid's face and realized his leg was being pulled, big time. _Trying to suss me out, eh? Fine. Two can play that game._ "So, why do you do it? Play this game with the police?"

The Kid grinned. "Oh, it's fun, that's all."

"Pretty risky for a bit of fun." The Kid shrugged at the observation and Shoji continued. "No, you're right. People do worse than that for a thrills."

"Yep."

He probed further. "Interesting choices of targets though. Always something with a history, something said to have legendary powers behind it." A slight twitch of the Kid's fingers was just noticeable. "Seems like they're the sort of thing other people want. You have a following. Not a very nice one." Dark eyes glanced his way warily. "And you're awfully young for a thief who's been around for a while, less a few years hiatus, that is. Makes me wonder where your father might be..."

"SHUT UP!" The Kid's voice broke into a sharp hiss that made Ai and Ayumi turn around and look at them with startled expressions. The young man smiled and waved unconvincingly but the two girls turned away even so.

Eyeing the Kid, Shoji said genially, "That's fine. I don't need to know about it. It's not my business. Is it?"

A moment of silence. "Yeah. You've made your point. You're not my business either." The young man glared down at him. "You're not as much fun as Conan, you know?"

"Nah. Just a different sort of fun." Shoji grinned. "The sort that sneaks up on you. But you're not my quarry. If anyone has any right to think of you as his quarry, it's Conan. I won't interfere." Not said was that he wouldn't interfere as long as the Kid didn't interfere with him. He had no doubt his movements would be tracked for a bit, that the Kid - being as curious as a cat - would try and find out more about who he was. However, he was also reasonably sure the Kid wouldn't do anything about it unless he was given a reason. _Which is all I want from him._

**_.oOo._**

**AI: **

She half listened to Ayumi telling her about the time that the Kid had shown up on her apartment balcony, looking for all the world like a vampire getting ready to pounce. Another part of her was still fighting down her irritation with Shoji but - mostly - curiosity over the case was getting to her. The case wasn't like a lot of Conan's usual ones, perhaps because of all the misdirection being thrown in the way.

Could she believe the Kid's claim not to be the criminal? She thought so. For one thing, he wouldn't have been able to slip into the role of Miss Tsukano between the point where they'd met her with Nakamori and now. Which meant that he'd been hanging on to Shoji when the diamond had been stolen. _Note to self, ask Shoji if he lost track of the Kid any time during the theft._ A glance back at Shoji, however, was returned with a cold look and she added to herself. _Later. When he's over his snit._

The sound of someone walking down a cross hallway caused Ai to pause and lean against the wall, quickly followed by the others. The lights being on again meant that it was easier to see but they also meant it was easier to _be_ seen. Thinking about the lights reminded her of the rapid succession of events once the lights had been restored to order earlier, so once the policeman pacing down the other hallway had passed, she looked at the Kid. "Do you know where the fuse box is for this place?"

"Probably the basement," the young man answered after thinking about it. "I'm afraid I don't know the place well enough to tell a lot, though." Another point in his favor, but one that really didn't mean a lot because he could be lying.

"Could someone set up a timer device to set off all that music?" Ai asked then, frowning. She would have loved to investigate the scene of the crime before checking for other clues, but she had a feeling that there was no way the police would let them into the room. "And where did the music come from, anyway?"

Ayumi pointed up at the ceiling. "There are speakers all over," she told Ai. "They use them to announce when the museum's closing, remember?"

Ai did, too, now that Ayumi mentioned it. It puzzled her, though, because those small speakers shouldn't have been good enough to make as much noise as had filled the exhibit hall. Not to mention the question of why _they_ were working when the power had gone out. Then there was the question of exactly _why_ the music had been necessary. She said as much, adding, "And why Angela Beda, anyway? That was the same song as the one I was listening to in the sound room."

"Exactly the same," Shoji remarked, forgetting his snit for a moment. Then he shut up, suddenly, to Ai's annoyance. At her expression he looked away, not explaining himself.

Ayumi giggled. "You really do know music, don't you, Shoji. I wondered." The glance Shoji gave the little girl ought to have chilled Ayumi into silence but she just smiled up at him, eliciting a sudden wry smile in return.

The Kid looked from Ai to Ayumi to Shoji and shrugged, "Who's Angela Beda?"

It was hard for Ai not to say straight out that the singer was her mother. There was a part of her that was very proud of her mother's accomplishments and would have loved to boast of them to everyone. That part, however, was quickly squelched by the knowledge that she couldn't risk being identified - fully identified - even by someone as innocuous as the Kid. _If you can call the Kid innocuous._

Shoji answered the question instead, sounding a trifle odd about it, "An opera singer. Soprano. She left stage a long time ago but she was considered one of the finest in her generation. That was her singing the last song before the alarms went off."

A question tried to form but right as it was flickering into life, the Kid grinned. "Oh. Maybe that's how the case broke then. It broke at the sound of her voice and the thief just snatched the diamond then." Ai rolled her eyes at the young man, annoyed at the return to _that_ subject. She could accept that it was possible to break a wine glass, though she still had doubts about Shoji's memories. Breaking a whole glass case, on the other hand...

"Impossible," Shoji said flatly, surprising Ai. "The case would have taken more than just an amplified voice to shatter. It was plain glass. A single note couldn't do it. The best that recording of Angela Beda could have done was shatter a piece of crystal and only if the frequency was right." At Ai's expression, he added, irritably. "I told you mother could do it. But it took finding the frequency the crystal vibrated to and singing it. Really, really, really loudly"

_.oOo._

**SHOJI:**

The memory of his mother standing in the middle of the kitchen, raging at life and everything wrong with it came to him. She'd been a very frustrated woman, forced to silence by circumstances and only later when he was older and knew more about why she'd left the stage and married his father did he understand that frustration, and her determination that he succeed where she had not. He wondered if Ai remembered that part of their mother's character and sort of hoped not. She'd loved all her children, despite the things she'd had to give up to get them. It wouldn't be right to remember only the pain.

Fortunately, Shoji's comments didn't seem to awaken any memories in his little sister. She simply gazed thoughtfully into space. At last she said, "But I heard something crash just a second _before_ the alarm went off. It wasn't very loud, though, so it couldn't have been the case. Something else? And could _that_ have been what set off the alarm?"

Oddly, that made a peculiar sense. "It could, if the alarm's sound sensors were turned on.. The security system was a good one. Motion, sound, heat, pressure... I doubt anyone could get within a foot of it with all those things going." He paused, adding, "Though you usually don't turn the sound detection on unless the room is empty."

The Kid nodded agreement. "I checked it out this afternoon, after I realized what was up. The unit was from Shafer electronics. Some of the best out there. I could bypass them, but it wouldn't be easy and it wouldn't involve breaking everything in sight, either. I don't know what _did_ break, either. The only thing in that case that I saw was the diamond itself."

There was a moment of silence while Ai pondered. She looked so much like Conan now that Shoji felt his ill-humor with her evaporate in a wave of fondness. He _liked_ his little sister. He just wished he could express that fondness without pissing her off at him. She worked so hard at things that he simply couldn't stay mad at her. From her expression, she was beginning to have an idea and he wondered what it was. If she followed Conan's methods it was unlikely she'd say anything until she was sure.

"I'd really like to get a good look at that case," Ai murmured finally. "But I don't think we're going to get in there very easily." She made a face. "If Mouri were here we could wander in behind him. Even Professor Agasa..." She paused, "I really don't want to get into trouble over it."

"No," Shoji agreed, "Nakamori probably wouldn't smack you, since you're a girl, but I wouldn't want to push our luck." He glanced at the Kid, ignoring her glare. "I don't suppose you could distract them?"

The Kid considered that, stroking his chin in imitation of Ai and Conan. Shoji smirked a bit at the sight, especially when it elicited a sigh from Ai. "I could. Hmmm. Yes, in fact, if I lead them all a merry chase outside the building, I should be able to keep them out of your way for as long as you need." He crouched in front of Ai. "Will that do, Miss Ai?" Shoji had to fight back an urge to interfere, reminding himself that the Kid wasn't a danger here.

Ai bit her lip consideringly. "That should be good, yes.." She paused, hesitated and handed the Kid her Detective Boys badge. "This will let us keep in contact. Don't expect us to keep using that frequency later, though."

With a laugh, the Kid took the badge. Then he tossed a smoke bomb. "Buh bye!"

As the smoke cleared and the three children stopped coughing, Ai sighed. "Well, at least that's out of his system."

**_.oOo._**

**AI: **

The Kid was nothing if not an excellent police baiter. It took a bit for things to really get going but once it did, Ai was reminded of a scene from an old black and white comedy. Not quite Keystone Kops. Nakamori's men weren't incompetent, just outmatched. More like Harpo Marx making the militia completely crazy by his rapid appearances and disappearances. Every so often she could hear the Kid singing, "Ping. Pong. Badabing." Then shouts and Nakamori's enraged curses would drown the young man's voice out and once again the chase would be on. At least until the next disappearance.

"I like how he managed to make Nakamori handcuff himself to that suit of armor," Shoji remarked, watching the show with the first real grin she'd seen on his face ever. It occurred to her to wonder why an FBI agent would find the antics of an annoying thief so funny, but though she longed to ask, she didn't dare. Not in front of Ayumi. Instead, once it was clear, she just beckoned for the two to follow her into the exhibit hall.

The room was empty now, though signs of the police presence were everywhere. Fingerprint powder scattered on every surface, revealing millions of smudges on the glass cases. One set caused Ayumi to start to giggle because they were the clear impression of someone's face pressed against the glass. Ai just hoped she didn't notice the two rounded ones about six inches beneath the face. She smacked Shoji - lightly, so as not to draw attention to his words - when he muttered, "34 B. At least." She did _not_ want to know how that got there. Nor why.

The case that had contained the diamond had gotten the most fingerprint powder of all and had the most smudges. The poles containing the security sensors had been moved aside and Ai pointed Shoji towards them. "See if there's anything odd about them," she told him and ignored Ayumi's puzzled look as the girl obviously wondered how Shoji would know.

Fortunately, Shoji had the answer to that one. "Didn't I mention my father sells security equipment, too?" He moved to the poles and added, "The Kid was right. Shafer. Top of the line, too. Wonder how they afforded it. Did they get the insurance company to pay for it?"

Ai shrugged, going over to the case itself and examining it. There was, fortunately, a small set of steps outside the range of the sensor array that would let children peer at the top of the base without having to be held up. A good idea, because Ai was pretty sure that any kid held in their parents arms would be kicking wildly and setting off the motion sensors around the case. That was the problem with security. Too little and you risked losing whatever you were protecting. Too much and the thing couldn't be looked at or enjoyed.

Not that there was much to enjoy now. She helped Ayumi stand beside her and peered at the remains of the glass case, trying to see some sign of whatever had broken just before the case. Intriguingly, she noted that the pattern of breaking did not suggest something had struck the glass from outside. The shards were scattered evenly all over the floor and inside the case. It was suggestive, but if that voice couldn't do it, and she believed Shoji on that count, then what could?

She paused, looking at Shoji. "How did the alarm go off with the power off, anyway?"

"UPS. Good for a couple of hours at least if it's the sort they usually supply with this equipment."

A puzzled Ayumi cocked her head. "What's a Yupeehs?"

"Western alphabet," Shoji answered patiently. "Letters U, P and S. Stands for Uninterrupted Power Supply. It's a really big battery that only gets used when the power goes off."

Ai was about to note that that was a bit simplistic but stopped, reminding herself with difficulty that Ayumi - while a lot smarter than most girls her age owing to the people she hung out with - was still too young to understand all the physics involved. "That's right, Ayumi," she agreed.

There was another silence as the three examined the crime scene, being careful not to touch anything. If there was anything Conan had bashed into Ayumi and Ai's skulls it was that you simply didn't disturb a crime scene. Not until all the evidence had been properly documented. She didn't doubt that Shoji already knew that much. For that matter, he'd probably handled quite a few such scenes of his own. That was why it startled her when he pulled out a pocket knife and - very carefully - began prying at something at the back of the case. "Hey? What are you doing?"

**_.oOo._**

**SHOJI: **

Looking up at Ai, he grinned. "I know, a bit of a risk but I'm pretty sure they didn't see it. If we don't open it now they may not realize it opens at all. Don't worry, I'm not touching anything. I don't want them to have my fingerprints."

Climbing down to join him, Ai glared down at him. It didn't work and she gave up, "What is it, then?" Ayumi joined them on the other side and echoed the question. He shrugged. It was just something odd at the moment, something he wasn't sure belonged. That the case was hollow was no surprise, but he didn't see a reason for a full length access panel unless there was something important inside it.

The panel, so carefully inset and disguised by the base's design, swung open, revealing a large speaker pointed straight upwards.. "This is interesting." He gazed at it, puzzled. "Is there one of those sound bite things that tell you about the exhibit on the case somewhere?" That didn't make sense though. Something like that needed a button to set it off and there was nothing of the sort anywhere near the exhibit. Nor any sign telling the viewer how to access such a lecture.

Ai looked like she was getting an idea and Shoji waited. At last she murmured, "Could it get strong enough to shatter glass?"

It sounded ridiculous and he very nearly said so. Then he noticed just how very thin the glass on the floor was. Thinner than glass for exhibition cases usually was. Particularly thin for a case that was supposed to be this securely protected. Why put so much money into the alarm system and not into the physical protection? _And that alarm was loud. Far louder than it needed to be._ He nodded slowly. "The case? Yes. Given this glass is what it was made from, given the noise went on long enough and given that it was close enough. The vibration alone might have done it."

Ayumi's eyes lit up. "_Oh!_ That's how the criminal broke it without being anywhere near." She paused, looked worried. "But that would mean that the Kid could have..." Her disappointment was palpable and Shoji thought she might have a soft spot for the Kid.

Quickly, Shoji shook his head. "Even if he set all this up, which I doubt he would have been in a position to, he never left my side when the diamond got grabbed. So I don't think you need to worry. He's still on the good guy's side this time, Ayumi." She looked relieved and Shoji rose to his feet, brushing glass off his knees. "So, anything else, Chief?"

A quick glance his way showed that Ai was not going to let him amuse her. At least not yet. He sighed inwardly and watched her stand as well, peering more closely at the top of the case - standing on tip toes to do so. She frowned, then. "That's odd. What made the glass near the center shatter so finely? Most of the shards are a lot larger."

She was right. A closer examination, which Ayumi could only join by getting up on the steps again, revealed a scattering of very small bits of glass. Shoji frowned and used his pen knife to nudge one of the shards. Even weirder. It was thinner than the other pieces. "An inner case?" he guessed. "It's coated with something."

"Show me."

After a moment's consideration, Shoji pulled out the handkerchief Miss Tsukano... or rather the Kid... had given him and carefully lifted one of the small pieces, showing it to Ai. She frowned, looking very like their mother in that moment of concentration, then headed for the door.

Wrapping the piece of glass up, Shoji followed her, Ayumi trailing behind, worriedly. "Ai? What is it?" the little girl called. Ai beckoned them over to the signboard and pointed at the gaudy gems attached to it. "Coated like that?" He eyed the things. Poked at them. Took one off and tapped it lightly, holding it as delicately as he could as he did so. The note was clear and perfect and he barely stopped himself from singing it softly. "Crystal," he murmured. "Hollow crystal. High A# over C " He started, turned and stared at Ai. "That's..."

"What broke first," she agreed. "Angela Beda's voice was probably altered to match the frequency of the other so-called diamond. You said it sounded distorted earlier, right?" He wanted very badly to lie but this wasn't the time. Instead he nodded helplessly under her intent and almost accusatory gaze.

Ayumi's eyes lit up. "Oh! I see. Someone used software like that game to alter the sound file, then played it - really really loud - to break the diamond. Then, when _it_ broke, the alarm went off." She frowned then, running out of ideas. "But then, how..."

"The alarm was what broke the case," Ai told the little girl, though her eyes were still on Shoji. Still watchful. Still questioning. He'd revealed more in the last hour than he'd ever intended to and though the little spats between himself and Ai had distracted her, she hadn't forgotten those little revelations. No doubt she was putting entirely too many numbers together. "It was all a trick."

"Unfortunately, true." Shoji spun around and stiffened as he found himself face to face with an antique snub nosed pistol, held in the hand of Mr. Tsukano. "And I can't let the three of you ruin my plans."

**_.oOo._**

**AI: **

"RUN!" Shoji's shout was accompanied by the thin form throwing itself at the curator and grabbing the man's wrist with his good hand. The force of the movement spun Tsukano around. Amazingly, the pistol didn't go off despite the shock to Tsukano's hand. Behind her, Ayumi was doing exactly what she was told and Ai thanked God that the little girl had learned exactly when it was a bad idea to freeze like a deer in the headlights or, worse, attack a criminal. Courage was one thing. Foolhardiness quite another. _Now, if only Shoji knew better._ She hesitated and Shoji yelled angrily at her again, "DAMNIT GIRL, STOP STARING AND GET OUT OF HERE!"

She nearly did. Ayumi had taken the sensible course for once and Ai ought to as well. Then Shoji, still attempting to keep Tsukano occupied, bit the man on the wrist, causing him to yell furiously and throw the boy across the hallway. Shoji struck the wall hard and crumpled, gasping for air. Ai backed up, prepared to run. It wasn't in time. Tsukano took two huge steps and grabbed her by the hair, forcing her to her knees. "Just be quiet, girl. I don't want to hurt you."

Shoji got to his feet. "Let her go."

"I can't do that, boy. Bad enough the one has gotten away. I'll have to search her out, but I can't leave you two wandering around while I do so. Come along." Tsukano dragged Ai beside him, pistol at ready. She gave Shoji a look, demanding he run as well, but he had that stubborn look. The one that said that he meant to protect her, no matter what. He was trying to find an opening but Tsukano was keeping the boy in his sight, making it impossible for Shoji to do anything but follow helplessly.

"Shoji... Go. Get help!"

"And leave him to kill you?"

Tsukano actually sounded hurt. "I'm not going to kill any of you. Just cooperate. You're not going to leave a little girl all by herself, are you, boy?." He continued moving, taking Ai - and perforce, Shoji - thru the oldest part of the building and into the basement. "It's a nice big safe," he continued as he pushed a door open with his shoulder. The room beyond was a clean, surprisingly well lit, office storage room with a big safe door set in one wall. "Plenty of air."

Shoji stopped. Smiled triumphantly. "And how do you plan on opening that holding onto Ai?" he asked. Tsukano looked at him, though and his smile caused Shoji to falter. "I won't..."

"Oh, no, you don't need to." The man shoved Ai at him and pressed a set of buttons on the side quickly. They beeped, a set of musical notes that sounded vaguely familiar, and the door swung open silently. "Now. Go in. Don't give me any more trouble boy. In this small space someone's sure to get hurt."

There was a moment of silence. Shoji looked at Ai helplessly, then marched into the safe, shoulders cracked back

**_To Be Continued... _**


	3. Verisimo & Epilogue

**_Playing the Right Note _**  
A Detective Conan AU fic  
by  
Deborah J. Brown

Detective Conan is copyright Aoyama Gosho.

Author's Notes: This story is a sequel to Playing with the Big Boys. As such, it's really a good idea to read that fic before you read this one. There are things only barely referenced here that were established in the original story and won't make sense without reading Shoji's introduction.

I'll be making further comments on the story in my Live Journal, user name: kosaginolegion. Review here, if you would, but feel free to comment there as well, or respond to stuff there. I'll be answering any questions on the fic there as well.

* * *

**_Chapter 3: Verisimo _**

**SHOJI: **

"This is your fault."

He sat on the floor and stared blankly at the ceiling for a bit. "Really?"

"Yes. If you weren't being such an overprotective jerk, you could have gotten away and helped me get out later. Now we're both stuck in here and the only one free is a little girl - a _real_ little girl - who's probably hiding somewhere in a corner and hoping Tsukano won't find her." Ai's tone turned bitter. "Or don't you think she deserves a bit of protection too?"

"Ayumi ran. She was safe enough. _You_ were the one in danger."

"And how much help did you give me? How much help are you going to give Ayumi?"

He sighed.

"Don't sigh like that."

"I'd like to point out that _you_ could have run when I told you to, instead of pausing to watch me get beaten up." He noted with interest that there was a fancily bound record album on the top shelf beside him. From here it was hard to read the title, but he was pretty sure it was Der Frieschutz. It certainly looked a lot like the album that used to have a place of honor over the family's stereo system when he was little.. It explained where Tsukano had gotten a copy of Angela Beda's voice. _He must have been a fan. He used the same song for his security code to the safe. Nice to know, except we're on the wrong side of the door to use it Too bad. So sad._

Ai hesitated. Returned to the attack. "And if you'd run too it would have given all of us a fighting chance. But you had to be the big man. In case you haven't noticed, Akai Shuichi, _you_ are just over four foot tall and weigh less than fifty pounds. We won't even discuss that broken arm of yours."

He dropped his head onto his arms and sighed again. "Yeah. I know. I _know_. On the other hand, _Shi Shi_, you've picked a fine time to let courage be your guide. Or is it foolhardiness?"

"_Shi shi? SHI SHI?_" Her voice rose an octave, plus a couple of notes, "You have a nerve calling me Shi Shi. _NO one calls me Shi Shi but my sister._"

He cursed his big mouth. This wasn't the time to let his pet name for her as a child slip out. Looking at her, he managed a wry smile. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be too familiar. I don't have any right to be."

Blue eyes met his in a glare that would, from their mother, have been followed by the sounds of beautifully and perfectly pitched screams that meant more broken glass to clean up. "That's the best you can do?"

"Yep. Look, _Ai_. I'm _trying_ to apologize. I'm just not very good at..."

"You're entirely _too_ good at acting like a jerk." She glared at him. "Is that why you're apologizing?"

He sighed again, tiredly. His arm was beginning to hurt. At least he hadn't made the damage worse, though. Vermouth would have added to his pains with yet another lecture on how he was in a child's body and should act at least somewhat accordingly. "No. It isn't why I'm apologizing. I'm apologizing because I'm me and you're you and I keep trying to treat you like my three year old little sister."

There was another moment of silence and Shoji wondered if he'd erred, if she realized the truth and would use _that_ as another weapon against him. _That's why I didn't want her to know._ He stared into her eyes, trying very hard not to let his thoughts show.

"Well I'm _not_ three and I'm _not_ your sister. So where do you get the right to treat me like I'm either?" He gazed at her and realized that, even when she _didn't_ know the reason, she sensed that she was the weakest point he had. He'd deserted her and his parents. Run away and gotten himself straight into trouble so deep that it had nearly killed him. And he was still running. "Well?"

Slowly he spoke. "Nowhere. Absolutely nowhere. I'm sorry." He forced his voice to stay calm, if not positively cold. "You're not three and I shouldn't treat you that way. You _are_..." He hesitated, managed a small snort. He wanted to tell her and he still couldn't. He was still a coward in the most important thing. "You weren't adult even before you took the drug. You have no idea what it's like to have a normal childhood or how to deal with someone like me. That's not your fault. I'm bossy. I'm used to being in control. And you're an important witness, so I have to keep you safe. It's my _job_ to protect you."

Her voice softened a bit, her tone slightly puzzled, as if there was something she didn't quite understand. "I don't want to be protected. I want to face my fears. I want to _do_ something to protect myself. You don't understand that, do you? You have no idea what it's like to be afraid."

Somehow, Shoji kept from snorting. He couldn't, however, keep from telling her, "The hell I don't. _You _have no idea what kind of things frighten me." He shrugged. "Never mind that. What I'm afraid of doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm trained to protect people. It's part of who I am. Part of _what_ I am. You didn't ask for me, and I know you don't want me, but I'm here and I'm not going to just dry up and blow away. For one thing, it's not like I have anything _else_ I can be doing like this."

"That's a low blow."

"Yeah," Shoji agreed. "It is. But we're stuck with each other, Ai. All three of us. I can't solve cases like Conan and I can't find a cure for our situation. But there's one thing I am good at and that's protecting people. Let me do what I do best. And I'll try my damnedest not to be such a jerk about it."

As Ai opened her mouth to answer, his Detective Badge crackled. "Shoji? Ai? Are you there? Can you hear me?"

Ayumi.

**AI:**

She grabbed the badge from his hand before he could so much as press the send button. "Ayumi. Are you alright? Where are you?"

"I got away from him. He's searching the other side of the building." Ayumi's tone sounded triumphant. "Where are you two? Do you need help? Are you hurt?"

Ai smiled in relief. It was typical that Ayumi would worry more about her friends than her own situation. "We're in the basement. Yes, we need help. Get the Kid. We're not hurt but we _are_ locked up in the safe. We can't get out without someone to open it."

"The Kid has a bit of a problem with that." The young male voice broke in on the conversation. "Whoops. Nearly got me that time. I'm sorry, kids, but I'm a trifle busy with Nakamori and his band of merry men. It _would_ be raining, just to make it all so much more fun."

Shoji gestured for a chance to talk and Ai let him. "Wouldn't the merry men fit _you_ a bit better. How far away are you? The criminal's Tsukano. Can you at least try and keep him from getting away? I'm betting he's on the run now."

The badge crackled momentarily and made a screeching sound. "Damn cat," the Kid muttered. "I might catch up with him if he comes outside. I've been trying to stay near the museum, but that means I'm an easier target than usual right now."

Sitting back, Ai considered the situation, then took the badge from Shoji again. "Ayumi? Come downstairs. Maybe you can open the safe door." At Shoji's startled look, she continued, "I have an idea about it, at least. Hurry. We don't want Tsukano to get away, and I bet he'll run soon if he can't find you."

"All right, Ai. I'll be right there."

Once the badge had been put away, Ai gazed at Shoji, who was still blinking at her. "Exactly how is she supposed to get us out?" he asked dryly.

"That depends on you," Ai told him quietly. "Or is singing that much of a terror for you? Even if it's in front of one person?" It had been slowly dawning on her. He _did_ understand a lot more about music than someone who was supposedly tone deaf. Too much, in fact. It wasn't just that his mother had apparently been a singer, nor that he just understood the mechanics but - like Conan - couldn't sing. Miss Tsukano's comment earlier came back to her, that Shoji might surprise her. He sang like Conan all right. Exactly like Conan. He could repeat the entry code for Ayumi. Ai was certain of it.

The FBI agent's face was closed and pale and Ai was suddenly vouchsafed a vision of him standing on stage, pallid and scared looking, trembling as if ready to run. Oddly, she could almost hear a boyish soprano rising above the audience. Then he smiled wryly. "Stupid fear, isn't it? Not like anyone's going to kill me if I sing the wrong note."

"Can you remember the notes of the code, then? Can you repeat them? I can sing but I can't remember them."

The smile quirked a little more broadly. "That part's easy. It's the first ten notes from same aria Tsukano used for his trick." He pointed upwards at a record album with tangled old script on its binding. "I just noticed it. He must be a fan of Angela Beda's. Not that I can blame him. She had a beautiful voice."

Ai would have pursued that point a bit further, wanting to know more about her mother. Perhaps Shoji's mother had known her. Perhaps _he_ had met her. _Any little scrap. That's all I ask._ Before she could, though, Ayumi's voice crackled over the badge again. "Okay. I'm here. Mr. Tsukano's in his office. He's packing something. I think he _is_ planning on running."

Ai nodded, though Ayumi couldn't see the gesture. "Okay. Do you remember that game we played upstairs? The one with the notes? If I sing you the notes, can you find them on the keypad in front of you? Play with it a bit so that you learn what numbers are what note, okay?"

"All right. Give me a few minutes."

"All the time you need, Ayumi." _But not _too_ long._ Ai was getting very tired of being cooped up in the safe. Turning off the badge, she looked at Shoji. "You don't have to sing them for her. Just sing them for me and I'll sing them to her."

He nodded, looking a bit relieved. It didn't surprise Ai. He might be willing to let _her_ see that particular weak point but she doubted he was willing to share it with more than one person. She smiled at him, reassuringly. "Don't worry. I won't tell Miss Tsukano, either. Though I think she knows already." That actually startled him and she pointed out with the superiority of one who'd only just figured it out herself, "Anyone can be a bad singer. Anyone with a reasonable sense of pitch can probably sing a bit. But I don't think anyone can manage to sing in exactly the same bad way as another person. Not unless they're imitating every note. And you can't imitate a note _that_ perfectly without knowing how to sing. So? Will you?"

Very slowly and not at all willingly, he nodded.

**SHOJI: **

The door swung open finally and Shoji sighed with relief, stepping out before Ayumi could come in after them. The last thing they needed was to be accidentally locked in again. Ai followed, not quite as quickly and he gave her a quick glance. She was looking as cool and collected, which was something of a relief. The case might be solved, but they still had to catch the criminal. Well, they didn't _have_ to, but now it was personal. He didn't _like_ being stuck in a safe. "Kid?" he said over the badge. "We're free."

"Oh goodie. Glad to hear it. Think you could do something about getting Nakamori off my tail now?"

Laughing, he answered. "We'll do our best." As he put the badge away, he looked at the girls. "Okay. We need to get Nakamori's attention and avoid Tsukano's. Thoughts?"

Ai pondered the question for a moment. "Let's use his own methods against him. If he's the one who set everything up, it's probably being controlled somewhere. The security room would be my best bet." She headed out the door with a decisive air that made Shoji feel another surge of big-brotherly protectiveness as he followed behind.

_I really am going to have to get over that._ Shoji hadn't understood her reasons for being annoyed and now that she'd told him, he wasn't sure exactly how to handle the situation. He had less of a problem dealing with women in the Bureau. They, at least, had the training and know-how to be where they were. He didn't want to admit that she deserved that same respect. It was a double standard and he knew it. She'd faced dangers all her life and had every right to stand on her own two feet. _But she's still my baby sister, damn it._

Like Tsukano's office and the basement, the security room was in the older part of the building. It made things easier in one respect because it meant a shorter trip. On the other hand, it meant that the floors creaked when you walked on them and the lighting was iffy. The shadows and noises were enough to make even Shoji a trifle edgy. He never liked this kind of layout in a chase. It was too easy to get lost or to over-react.

Still, they got where they were headed without incident and once inside, Shoji locked the door and shoved a chair up under its handle. Then he started pushing - trying to push - a bookshelf into position as well. At Ai's raised brow, he shrugged. "He may have a key. Better overkill than letting him in at us." He shoved at the shelf again and winced. It was so damned heavy, the weight too much for his skinny frame to manage.

He was just about to give up on the idea when Ai and Ayumi joined in, Ai muttering, "Try asking for help once in a while, dummy." Somehow he managed not to flush, especially when little Ayumi reminded him that he had a broken arm and that he shouldn't be trying to do so much. _Honestly. Can't they give the male ego a break for a little?_ With a final shove, the shelf moved into place.

"That enough or should we push the _desk_ over too?" Ai asked with asperity. At his look of consideration, she growled, "I'm _joking_!"

"I'm not." Shoji eyed the doorway. "Given enough shoving, he could get in. The question is, how desperate will he be? Escape would be a better option for him." Desperation could push even the nicest of people into doing the stupidest things. Like that pistol of Tsukano's. Just _having_ it could get him into worlds of trouble. _Where'd he get it anyway?_ The thing was old. Perhaps it was part of the museum's exhibit. _Was it even loaded?_ He'd reacted on the assumption that a gun was always loaded and ready to fire, but it occurred to him that - for once - the rule might have been wrong. Still, better safe than sorry. Unfortunately, "It's too heavy, even with the three of us. Never mind. What's your plan, Ai?"

She headed for the console controlling the cameras and the monitoring equipment and examined the televisions above her. The images flipped from one room to another, showing no signs of movement. One, though, made Shoji frowned. "There." A shadow on Tsukano's door had moved from one view to another. "He's still in his office." It wasn't far from the security room, not good news. They'd gotten in and defended just barely in time.

Ai nodded and turned to the controls, fiddling around with the computer attached to the system. She made a small satisfied noise. "All the computers in the building are connected by an local area network," she said and Ayumi nodded wisely, though Shoji wasn't absolutely certain she really understood what that meant. _Oh, wait, her father's a computer whiz, isn't he?_ He focused his attention on Ai, watching her search the system, finding the games that they'd played earlier, a program that controlled the speaker systems, then the files containing all the recordings. She frowned. "I don't see anything for Angela Beda."

"Try the 'Beautiful Angel' file," Shoji told her, not surprised that that was one she wanted to find. "Beda is Sicilian for Beautiful." She selected it and nodded as their mother's voice filled the room.

"Now," she murmured. "To put it on all the speakers." She started the program and selected the file. Then, with a grin at Shoji, she added the one he'd been listening earlier as well. "Ayumi? Anything you want to hear?"

"I dunno. I liked the song about the duck." At both Shoji and Ai's frown, she sang in English, "Be kind to your web-footed friends, for that duck may be somebody's mother."

Ai and Shoji looked each other and began to laugh.

**AI: **

Outside the room they could hear the sounds of the music Ai had selected. At first the volume wasn't much, but it only took a bit of fiddling on her part to bring it up to eleven as Shoji so oddly put it. Fortunately, there were no speakers in the security room, because the noise level even through the door was making it hard to think straight. Still, this would almost certainly get Nakamori's attention.

"Hey, that's pretty cool," the Kid's voice crackled over Shoji's badge. "Just one problem. Nakamori thinks it's a distraction."

Ai reflected that the Inspector had an admirable, if currently frustrating, sense of focus, not to mention a clue about how the Kid worked. There was no reason for the thief to return to the museum, since the theft was completed. So all their noise was accomplishing was annoying the neighbors and attracting Tsukano's attention. "He's right, too," she grumbled into the badge. "Drat him. Well, try and get away. We need help here."

The bang on the door made Ai start. A glance at the monitor showed her that Tsukano had, indeed, realized where they were. He hammered hard, yelling, "Children. Stop that. Let me in. Let me talk to you!"

Shoji looked like he desperately wanted a gun in his hand and Ai couldn't blame him. She didn't' carry her little pistol around anymore either. It had gotten too hard to keep hidden and she worried that one of the children might get their hands on it. She wanted it very badly now.

"Children! Please. I won't hurt you! I'm sorry I frightened you. _Please_ stop that noise and let me in." Desperation was apparently lending strength to the man's efforts. Little by little the door was shoving open, neither shelf nor chair a deterrent. The tips of the chair's legs were too smooth to get proper purchase. Ai stepped backwards, then stiffened, realizing that they were cornered and that she had to stand her ground. The door pushed a bit further open and Tsukano's face peered around the edge, eyes wild and terrifying.

Ai took a deep breath. "Shoji? What do we do?" She glanced at the boy, who was frowning deeply. _Lord. Don't tell me that he's taken my lecture to heart so much that he's not going to do _anything. "Shoji!" The door kept inching further open and she stared at it, panicked and unable to move or think straight. _What do I do? _

"Mr. Tsukano? If you really don't want to hurt us, give us your gun. Just set it down where we can reach it," Shoji said calmly. "Otherwise I'll turn this switch on and the police and everyone in the area will hear you murder us." His hand was holding a microphone that he'd found from somewhere and Ai thought, irately, _Why didn't _I_ think of that._ It occurred to her that the fundamental flaw in her plan had been its elaborate nature. Conan was going to laugh at her, if they made it thru this mess. Ayumi had said the speakers were used for announcements. She should have realized there'd be a way to talk over all the speakers.

"No. Wait. Please. Here," The man's hand slipped in and placed the pistol on the chair. "It isn't loaded. I promise you. Please. Can we talk?" He backed away from the door at Shoji's direction and in the monitor Ai could see him standing on the other side of the hall, staring pleadingly up at the camera. Shoji ordered her to get the pistol and she obeyed, noting by its light weight that he'd been telling the truth. It wasn't loaded. By its age, she wondered if it could even fire. She said as much.

Shoji nodded. "I'd wondered," he said quietly. "Now. This is my sort of thing. Let me do my job." At her nod, he jerked his head at Ayumi, calling her over. "Ayumi, I want you to sit at the end of the console. Hold this microphone and - if anything happens to me or to Ai - turn it on and start yelling for Nakamori. All right?"

Ai didn't comment that Nakamori, as focused as he was on catching the Kid, might ignore even Ayumi's cries for help. Still, it was at least a small deterrent. She watched Ayumi crouch where she'd been told to. Then she helped Shoji move the shelf out of the way and let Tsukano in.

**SHOJI: **

Every instinct in him was saying that the situation wasn't nearly as bad as it looked. He'd gotten in trouble for letting his instincts drive his choices before, though, so he tended not to let them be the only thing that guided his actions. Still, they were at a stalemate and that had to be dealt with. Years of negotiation training kicked in and he gazed quietly at the man. "Okay. We're listening."

Tsukano pulled a handkerchief out of his coat pocket and wiped sweat from his forehead. The signs of tension had increased. The sense of a man pushed right to the end of his tether. If he'd really meant to kill someone he would have by now. _It's still just a matter of instinct. If I'm wrong, we could be dead in a minute._ Shoji kept his eyes on the man's hands as Tsukano began to talk.

"It's the museum, you see. We really need people coming in. I could pour money in, all the money I have, and it won't change anything if no one visits." He sighed. "I just wanted to get us some attention. It was just a publicity stunt. I didn't expect the Kid to show up and I didn't expect you three to realize what I'd done."

Ai coughed. "What about the real diamond."

He pulled a shiny clear stone from his pocket. A very familiar one. "Right here. It's been in my pocket all this time. It's not really all that valuable, being man-made and all." Tsukano looked at them worriedly. "Please, children. The only reason I wanted to lock you up was that I panicked. I was going to run. Everything had gone wrong and I didn't know what else to do."

Shoji considered the question carefully. He didn't _trust_ anyone but he could acknowledge the sense of the man's statements. "What about the insurance? Are you sure that isn't the real reason you did this?"

There was absolute shock on the man's face. "Insurance? What insurance... Oh... I see. I can see how you'd think that. I'm so sorry, children." He gazed at the diamond sadly, watching it glitter brightly then set it on the console. "Could you... call the Inspector in. I've been a fool. Perhaps he will be understanding."

Shoji hesitated and was about to tell Ayumi to do exactly that when a thought occurred to him. He walked up to the man. "If the Kid is supposed to steal the diamond then maybe he _should_ steal the diamond." He picked it up and watched Tsukano's face. "Well? It's only fair."

"But..." A startled and hopeful look crossed the man's face, answering the final question. Instinct was - probably - right. He hoped. "How?"

"It doesn't have to really be the Kid," Shoji reassured the man. "Give me a handkerchief, would you?" Tsukano, puzzledly, handed a large piece of fairly clean linen to Shoji, who wrapped the diamond up carefully. He'd have used his own handkerchief but he didn't want to risk any possibility of his DNA getting on the gem. Somehow he was pretty sure that Nakamori took _every_ chance he could to find out who the Kid was. "Now. I want you to go outside and see if you can find Nakamori. Tell him that you suspect that the Kid had already stolen the diamond and switched it for a fake from the billboard. Don't forget to break one. Okay?"

Tsukano hesitated then nodded. As he left the room, Ai spoke. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

**AI: **

It puzzled her. Shoji was on the side of the law. She had been inclined herself to trust Tsukano's story, had wanted to. Yet paranoia had entered into the equation and she still wondered if the man was lying to get himself out of trouble. Still, would Shoji be holding that diamond if that were the case? "What if that's a fake too?"

He found a pen and tapped it lightly against the diamond's surface, holding it carefully to allow it to vibrate. Aside from the small clink, there was nothing. Not hollow, then. It was the coloring, similar to but not quite the same as the coating on the glass pieces, that made it hard to tell. As gaudy as the piece was, she couldn't help but agree that it couldn't be a very valuable gem, either. "Sure?" Shoji repeated. "No. I'm never certain of anything. For what it's worth, though, I'm reasonably confident that we're doing the right thing." He shrugged. "I don't do things by intellect, Ai. All I have is my instincts."

Ai shook her head, not really understanding. Ayumi, however, hugged Shoji suddenly. "I liked him," she said. "I'm glad you thought of a way to help him." To Ai's surprise, Shoji flushed bright red. "What do we do now?"

"Get this to the Kid. We may have to talk fast..."

"Nah." The voice from the corner of the room caused all three to jump and turn. No one was there but when they turned, the Kid, in full regalia, was seated, dripping wet, on the chair Tsukano had vacated. "I'll play along. It's a blow to my rep, a bit, but I'll recover." He held out a gloved hand for the gem. "Real, yep. Ugly as sin. Yep. Something I'll never live down stealing? Ah well." He sneezed. "I hope you three appreciate all the trouble I went to, chasing around out there. I think I may catch a cold."

She couldn't help telling the young man, "Drink some hot tea and lemonade before you go to bed. Plenty of vitamin C and you should be okay. Getting wet doesn't give you a cold. It just makes it easier to catch one."

"Have your mama make you a hot bowl of soup, too," Ayumi suggested. "That always makes me feel better." Ai noted Shoji's smirking and gave him a sharp glare that did nothing to change the expression. _Honestly. He's such a boy sometimes._

The Kid seemed just as amused by the mothering as Shoji was. The two exchanged a look of understanding and grinned broadly. Then the Kid rose to his feet. "And now I'd better get my hind end out of here. I'm going to need a leave a trail so Nakamori thinks I'd hidden this ugly piece of junk somewhere and came back to get it." He bowed. "It's been a treat working with you, Miss Ai. I see that I'll have to keep your observation skills in mind, should we ever cross swords for real one day. Until then..."

"Please. No smoke bombs. Just go," Ai snapped. He laughed and, for once, left the room like a normal human being.

There was a moment of silence, then Ayumi said. "What now?" It was a good question. They would still have to wait for the police to return, probably answer a lot of questions. First would be to get their stories straight so that Nakamori wouldn't realize how much involvement they'd had in the case. Second was probably to find Miss Tsukano. Ai was reasonably sure their teacher would sleep for a long while after being drugged, but she wanted to be sure she was okay. She said as much and Ayumi nodded. "And then, maybe Shoji will play me a real game of Tones?"

They blinked at her, startled, and she gave them a look. "Anyone who knows what note a crystal is vibrating at can play a Tone game."

**SHOJI: **

"You let the Kid go?"

"It seemed the thing to do at the time." Shoji cocked his head and listened to the next note in the sequence. Ayumi was _good_ at this game. He could keep up, but only just. She had one hell of a memory. Beside him, Conan was just about incandescent. The only reason he wasn't jumping around and screaming was that he didn't want to risk someone walking in on them and wondering why a seven year old boy was having a fit over permitting the Kid to escape.

"You let the _Kid_ go?"

Listening to another sound file from Der Frieschutz, Ai gave Conan a look. "If you want to catch the Kid red-handed, then you need to actually _be_ here."

Conan gritted his teeth, making a sound like a small angry poodle. "I would have come if I'd known I needed to."

That surprised Shoji and he nearly made a mistake in the sequence, catching himself just in time. Then he realized why. "Of course. The Kid only pretended to call. He probably didn't want to risk your showing up. He knew if he called Professor Agasa for real you'd probably figure out something was up and try and get here sooner."

"I don't know why you're so upset, Conan. No one's been hurt and nothing's really been stolen. The Kid will give that diamond back and the museum will be fine." Ayumi triumphantly finished her turn and gave Shoji a grin.

_Oh man. I'm getting wiped across the floor by a little kid. For real._ It wasn't fair. He actually admitted to a talent for music and he was still behind on the game. _Embarrassing._ He focused on the next set of notes, only to have Conan growl angrily, "You. Let. The. Kid. Go." Somehow he still got that sequence right, despite Conan's 'help'.

"Give it a rest, Conan. You know you'd never forgive us if we caught him, so stop being such a jerk." Conan stopped and stared at Ai, whose sharp tone held that note of aggravation that Shoji had come to know and was beginning to like. As long as it wasn't aimed at him, that was.

_I can, I think, get used to her being braver. Just as long as she lets me be there for her._ Shoji winced as he finally missed the next sequence. "Okay, short stuff. I give up. You win. This round." He eyed Ayumi. "Best two out of three?"

She grinned at him and was about to agree when Miss Tsukano entered the room. The _real_ Miss Tsukano, he was fairly sure. The young woman looked a bit tousled from her nap hidden in the women's bathroom, but none the worse for wear. "Oh, children. My uncle told me what happened. I'm so sorry you had to go thru all that. Oh, hello, Conan."

"Hi Miss Tsukano!" Conan's tone shifted very quickly into the childish treble that he usually put on. His look at Shoji and Ai, however, said that he wasn't quite done. "Are you okay?"

"Just fine, dear. Just fine." Miss Tsukano came over and barely glanced at the game Shoji and Ayumi were playing. She didn't seem to notice the way he stiffened either. Still, Shoji suspected that was because she didn't want to make him nervous more than not realizing that he'd been playing a game that a child with the level of musical talent he was supposed to have should not have been able to play. Ai gave him a look and he shook his head. He wasn't ready for that sort of confession. There were some fears he simply didn't want to face. Yet.

**AI: **

Ai sighed inwardly as Miss Tsukano told them that the police were just about ready to leave and that Professor Agasa would be able to take them home soon. She wasn't really looking forward to dealing with Conan when the three of them could be more private. Ayumi was the only thing keeping Conan from anything more than the relatively mild complaint over their permitting the Kid to get away. Particularly letting the Kid get away _with_ one of their badges. She wondered how long it would be before Conan remembered that that meant the Kid was carrying a transmitter that his eyeglasses could trace.

_Not, I think, very much longer. Except I bet the Kid will guess that as well and get rid of the thing. He isn't an idiot. Annoying, yes, but not an idiot._ Ai watched Shoji as he talked to Miss Tsukano, both carefully ignoring the results of the game that he and Ayumi had just played. Sometime, when she could talk to him in private, she was going to have to ask him just how he knew so much about Angela Beda. Perhaps his mother had been _her_ mother's contemporary? Perhaps they'd known each other. He could even have met her himself.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, an idea was trying to form but it was so nebulous that she couldn't put her finger on it. She knew it was important, though and she decided to let it sit there and slowly gel. Someday, perhaps, she'd work it out. Someday she'd understand.

If nothing else, though, she thought she was beginning understand Shoji a bit more. Possibly even like him. Oh, he was an irritating, over protective, nuisance. On the other hand, her safety _did_ seem to matter to him. It was strangely comforting. Conan was there to help her find her courage, to help her stand on her own two feet. But maybe everyone needed a big brother to count on sometimes. It was nice to know that she could count on Shoji, even if he did like to keep secrets and keep his own council. He spoke the truth, pretty nearly always. His lies were in his silence. Just like her own lies were. In a way, it made her feel a connection to him that she hadn't felt before.

Miss Tsukano got to her feet. "I'll send Professor Agasa back for you, all right?" Four voices chorused agreement and she left the room.

"Are you _sure_ it was a good idea?" Conan asked once their teacher had gone. Ai grinned at him. Still on that question, even now.

"Yes, actually. It wasn't as if we let someone get away with a real crime."

"But..."

"There's only one truth, Conan. But no one ever said that it has to be visible to everyone." She grinned at Shoji, who grinned back. "Some truths are better kept in the dark. Until they're ready to come into the light, that is."

**_Epilogue: Coda _**

_The auditorium was full. Hundreds of parents all watching the choir. All waiting for their children to prove their talent and make them proud. Not for the first time, he stood on the stage and felt his breath go short in his chest. Then a light hand nudged him over to the side, reminding him that he was safe from all that. _

_Music played. Voices sang. And he carefully turned the pages and listened peacefully, turned away from the crowd and watching the choir. Content just to be there and watch over his sister and her friend. "Miss Tsukano?" he whispered, during the moment's break. _

_"Yes, Shoji?" _

_"I know how to sing." _

_"Yes, Shoji. _

_"I don't want to." _

_She smiled at him. "That's fine, Shoji. As long as you don't want to, you don't have to." _

_He nodded agreement and listened as Ayumi's voice rose thru the room. Sweet and clear and courageous. Maybe, someday, he might find the kind of courage that let you leave the shadows. Until then, there were pages to be turned and patterns to be listened to. _

_And a sister to watch over. Whether or not she wanted him._

**_The End_**


End file.
